After losing Kirk Cousins in free agency, the Minnesota Vikings faced the toughest question that any franchise has to deal with. Who will be “the guy” at quarterback?
It appeared that Minnesota had answered that question after moving up one spot to select former Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy with the No. 10 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Unfortunately, the Vikings were unable to see what they had in McCarthy this season after he underwent season-ending meniscus surgery in August. Minnesota then turned to Sam Darnold, who led the team to their second-most regular season wins (14-3 record) in franchise history.
As a result of the surgery, McCarthy has been out of the public eye throughout the year. However, he resurfaced during Week 18 on “Sunday Night Football” sporting a new look that piqued the interest of NFL fans.
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J.J. McCarthy hair, explained
Before the McCarthy sighting on “Sunday Night Football” in Week 18, many fans may not have seen the Vikings QB since the 2023 College Football Playoff, when he looked like this:
15-0 ?#CFBPlayoff #NationalChampionship pic.twitter.com/B0Bnvskuj7
— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) January 9, 2024
When he emerged on Sunday night, it was clear that McCarthy had grown his hair out over the course of the year. Some even compared his new look to that of Anakin Skywalker from “Star Wars.”
Vikings rookie QB J.J. McCarthy has gone viral for looking nearly identical to Anakin Skywalker. pic.twitter.com/Z8dNsPa8rJ
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 9, 2025
McCarthy hasn’t offered a reason for the new ‘do, so it’s safe to assume he just wanted to try something different with his look. Whether it’s working for him is in the eye of the beholder, but he’s not the first QB to get attention for a new hairstyle this season. Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow caused a similar stir with his bleach-blonde look in the preseason.
The rookie hasn’t taken an NFL snap just yet, but he’s already making headlines. Expect to see McCarthy on the sideline supporting his teammates once again when the Vikings take on the Rams in the wild-card round.
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J.J. McCarthy injury update
McCarthy originally had his meniscus surgically repaired in mid-August, knocking him out for the entirety of the 2024 season. Instead of preparing for his NFL debut, McCarthy has spent the last five months rehabbing his knee.
The rehab process led to some swelling in McCarthy’s knee which required a second, non-surgical procedure in November. Following the procedure, head coach Kevin O’Connell said, “He’s on the original timeline, in good shape.”
Since this secondary procedure, there’s been no official update from the team on McCarthy’s status. However, Minnesota beat reporter Darren Wolfson reports that he’s “doing well” as of Jan. 9.
JJ McCarthy is “doing well” according to @DWolfsonKSTP on @SKORNorth.
“I don’t know, is he a full go first day of OTA’s? Or is he a full go June mandatory minicamp, that’s probably a bit aggressive based on the injury, the initial injury, the initial surgery. But yeah, he is… pic.twitter.com/sjEvBeQfbT
— The Purple Persuasion (@TPPSkol) January 9, 2025
