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Minnesota Vikings ‘curse’ revealed with JJ McCarthy out for season through knee surgery and eight years of QB hell
The former Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater feared he could lose his leg after a non-contact injury in 2016
NFL fans are convinced that the Minnesota Vikings are cursed following JJ McCarthy's season-ending knee injury.
McCarthy is the third Vikings quarterback to suffer a serious injury in the past eight years following knocks suffered by Teddy Bridgewater and Kirk Cousins.
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This week, the Vikings suffered devastating preseason turmoil when it was announced that McCarthy – a highly-touted rookie quarterback – had undergone season-ending knee surgery.
McCarthy, who was selected No. 10 overall in the NFL Draft, will miss the entire 2024-25 campaign after undergoing surgery for a torn meniscus.
The Michigan product suffered the injury during the preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders last weekend.
The Vikings must now rely on veteran Sam Darnold, who signed a one-year contract worth $10 million in March.
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Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall are also on the team's quarterback roster.
"This is going to be a small bump in the road," said Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell.
"Other quarterbacks in our league have gone through similar things early on in their journey and came back better and stronger than ever, and that is not only my expectation, but I know that is going to happen for JJ.
"We'll have a great plan for him not only in the quarterback room with those other guys, but a process so that him and I can continue to build our rapport and make sure there is a day-to-day football process."
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To make matters worse, Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison was carted off the practice field due to an ankle injury on Wednesday.
The Vikings drafted McCarthy as the long-term replacement for Cousins, who himself ruptured his Achilles in Week 8 last season.
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Cousins was ruled out for the season after suffering the injury during the second half of the Vikings' game against the Green Bay Packers.
As the veteran QB attempted to step up in the pocket, his right leg buckled and he was sacked by Packers defensive tackle Kenny Clark.
“We’re all hurting for Kirk, just knowing how much he’s invested into this team," O'Connell said.
“There’s no doubt about it. We’re going to miss him."
At the time, the Vikings had a 4-4 record but they finished 7-10 and missed the playoffs.
The Vikings traded for Josh Dobbs in the wake of Cousins' injury but the Arizona Cardinals QB did not live up to the billing after leading Minnesota to victories over the Falcons and Saints in his first two games.
Dobbs was later benched for Mullens later in the season.
The Vikings have a long history of turmoil in the quarterback position.
In August 2016, Bridgewater feared he could lose his leg after suffering a devastating knee injury during practice.
Bridgewater suffered a torn ACL, dislocated knee joint and other structural damage around his left knee.
At the time, the Vikings had hopes of a bright future under Bridgewater, their first-round pick in 2014.
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The previous season he led Minnesota to the playoffs with an 11-5 record and had made his first Pro Bowl.
Moreover, the Vikings thought they finally had some stability in the quarterback position after going through seven QBS in nine seasons.
"It was a play-action pass. I faked to Adrian Peterson and once I put my foot in the ground after the play, everything just snapped," Bridgewater recalled to The Athletic.
"I was just asking [head trainer Eric Sugarman] how bad was it. And I asked him if I was done.
"He asked me if I could still feel my foot. I told him I started losing feeling.
"That’s when he just yelled at the [ambulance] driver to try to speed up...
"I knew if I had lost feeling in my foot, that would have meant nerve damage and I would have had the possibility of losing my leg."
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Bridgewater missed the entire 2016 season and did not return for Minnesota until December 2017.
Cousins then joined the Vikings in 2018 as a replacement for Bridgewater and had mixed success before joining the Atlanta Falcons in the offseason.