J.J. McCarthy's Latest Hand Injury is Bad News for Justin Jefferson and Vikings Pass Catchers
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While J.J. McCarthy’s 2025 season has been a bit of a roller coaster, he had been playing well leading into the Minnesota Vikings' Week 16 matchup against the New York Giants.
However, McCarthy left the 16-13 win with a hand injury, and his availability for the rest of the season is now in doubt as the 7-8 Vikings have nothing left to play for.
With more news and updates to follow this week, let’s dig into the latest news surrounding McCarthy’s injury and what his potential absence means for fantasy football owners as they enter their Week 18 fantasy championship game.
What’s the latest on J.J. McCarthy’s injury?
J.J. McCarthy was taken to the locker room during the first half of the Vikings' win over the Giants on Sunday, and never returned to the game. The second-year player was in obvious pain before leaving the game, and while X-rays after the game were negative, McCarthy is due to have an MRI on Monday.
#JJMcCarthy @Vikings
— David J. Chao - ProFootballDoc (@ProFootballDoc) December 21, 2025
Ruled out today
Significant tenderness to palpation
Means worry for right hand fracture pic.twitter.com/0kD2DIqBQq
While the Vikings were able to win with QB Max Brosmer, there's a good chance that they'll need to start the rookie for the last two games of the season. The Vikings will await MRI results before making a decision on whether or not to shut down McCarthy for the rest of the season, but they have a quick turnaround for Week 17 as they host the Detroit Lions on Thursday for a Christmas Day matinee. If McCarthy is unable to play, that will have an obvious impact on fantasy football owners who are in the midst of their fantasy playoffs.
If McCarthy is unable to suit up against the Lions, that will have obvious ripple effects on the rest of the Vikings' offense. While McCarthy hasn't had a great season offensively, Brosmer hasn't done much in his limited action this year, and it's had a negative effect on the rest of the Vikings' skill players -- including Justin Jefferson, Aaron Jones, Jordan Mason, Jalen Nailor, T.J. Hockenson, and Jordan Addison.
What does that mean for fantasy owners?
In Brosmer's lone start this year, the Vikings lost 26-0 and the rookie threw four interceptions to go with just 126 passing yards. Hockenson led the team with 59 receiving yards in the loss, while Jefferson had just two catches for four yards on six targets.
If McCarthy ends up missing the Vikings' Week 17 game against the Lions, fantasy football owners really have no choice other than to sit any Vikings player on their roster. Both running backs will have to face stacked boxes as the Lions would happily let Brosmer through, while pass catchers like Jefferson, Addison, and Hockenson would see an obvious downgrade in who is throwing them the ball.
While it's not exactly an easy thing to bench a first-round fantasy draft pick like Jefferson, his fantasy owners are probably used to doing so as he hasn't been doing much this year even with McCarthy under center.
We'll keep our news page updated on McCarthy's availability throughout the week, but fantasy football owners should be prepared to bench all of their Vikings players this week (though the Lions defense would become an interesting play in that scenario).
Once a top-ranked fantasy gamer on ESPN, Nick Raducanu has been playing fantasy sports for over 25 years. His written fantasy coverage includes stops at Rotoworld, Rotowire, and The New York Times.