Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy likely to miss Week 3 vs. Bengals due to ankle injury, coach says
Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy will likely not play against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday due to an ankle sprain.
"I would anticipate we are not planning on having him for Sunday," coach Kevin O'Connell said during a news conference on Monday.
He went on to say the team doesn't see the sprain leading to "any kind of short-term IR thing," but medical staff are monitoring how McCarthy responds to treatment this week.
The announcement comes less than 24 hours after the Vikings were defeated by the Atlanta Falcons 22-6 at U.S. Bank Stadium. McCarthy was sacked six times and turned the ball over three times in the loss.
With McCarthy likely out, backup QB Carson Wentz is expected to play against the Bengals. Wentz, who signed with Minnesota in August, was the No. 2 overall pick by the Eagles in 2016. He finished third in NFL MVP voting the following season, but tore his ACL in December 2017.
"He's really smart, a guy that's played a lot of football," O'Connell said about Wentz on Monday. "He's been able to get himself to a place where he's felt very comfortable these past two weeks, had he needed to go in the football game, and now he'll get a week of preparation to get ready to go play."
Wentz, 32, is 47-46-1 as a starter and is the only quarterback in NFL history to throw for 4,000 yards in a season without any wide receiver on his team reaching 500 yards receiving.
The Bengals will be without QB Joe Burrow on Sunday after he injured his left toe during Week 2 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Quarterback Joe Browning will start in his place.
Kickoff between the Vikings and Bengals is set for noon in Minneapolis.