The Minnesota Vikings are finishing up the 2025 NFL season against the Green Bay Packers on January 4 at U.S. Bank Stadium. Moreover, with the Packers locked into the No. 7 seed, they’ll rest a few players, but one key missing piece is Micah Parsons, who is done for the season.
Whoever is under center for Minnesota won’t have to worry about Parsons lurking on the other side. There’s a possibility that the player who will be playing quarterback is J.J. McCarthy as he recovers from a right-hand injury.
If McCarthy gets the green light from head coach Kevin O’Connell, the second-season quarterback noted what it’s like to play against the Packers when there’s no Parsons.
“You put him on any defense in the NFL, it’s going to be different with him not on it,” McCarthy said while talking to reporters on December 31. “He’s a tremendous player. Obviously, one of the best in the league and going to be one of the best of all time, and so much respect to him. He’s a great person, a great role model for the game.
“Obviously, Jeff Hafley is one of the best defensive coordinators, a great defensive mind. We’re gonna have our work cut out for us. They got a lot of good ball players, and this rivalry means a lot to them, too. We got to come to play.”
Vikings Give J.J. McCarthy Injury Update
As mentioned, McCarthy could be playing against the Packers in Week 18, and O’Connell shared an update on McCarthy, noting that the Michigan product participated in the New Year’s Eve practice session.
“He got out there with the trainers [on December 30] and had a really positive throwing session,” O’Connell told reporters. “So he’s going to take part in practice [on December 31], see how he feels coming out of it, see if there’s any restrictions, or any issues before working into another day tomorrow. But we’re at the point now, after his positive day [on December 30], getting on the field [on December 31] for practice, and we’ll see how it goes.”
Moreover, O’Connell shed light on the type of practice session that the young quarterback will have.
“I don’t know if he’ll take every single rep, but he’ll definitely take,” O’Connell added. “The plan, as of right now, is to give him as much as possible, just so we can determine where he’s at [on December 30].”
Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy Wants to Play Against Packers
Although O’Connell is being cautious with McCarthy’s health, the player still wants to be out there, even in the final game of the season. In the same scrum with the media, the Vikings signal-caller was lobbying to play against Green Bay.
“You never want to pass up an opportunity to play in a game like this,” McCarthy added. “So much history, so much tradition. Like this game, the two games, it’s a lot bigger than us individually, a lot bigger than us as a team. It’s the whole passion, the fan base, all the history, like I said. It means the world to be able to have this opportunity.”
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