Vikings’ J.J. McCarthy progressing with hand injury, but status is still up in the air for Sunday’s season finale

Swelling in Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy‘s injured throwing hand has come down, coach Kevin O’Connell said, but it remains to be seen whether he will be comfortable enough to play in the season finale against the Green Bay Packers.

McCarthy continued rehab and on-field work through the weekend, but the quarterback does not need a full practice week in order to play, O’Connell said Monday, Dec. 29.

McCarthy’s last play in the Dec. 21 win in New York was a strip sack by Giants edge rusher Brian Burns. He was later diagnosed with a hairline fracture in his throwing hand, an injury for which the team could not pinpoint an exact origin.

This week’s decision will be “purely” about his grip strength and comfort throwing, O’Connell said. Max Brosmer will continue to take first-team reps until McCarthy is ready.

“It’s just going to be making sure we can get him comfortable enough to maybe get him some work and absorb some of the game plan,” O’Connell said, “and as we get him to Thursday and Friday, what does that look like? ... He’s gotten a chance to get some opportunities, gotten a lot of practice time in, so it’s not quite like it was maybe early in the year.”

O’Connell said he would “love” to get McCarthy another game’s worth of experience this season. A growing list of injuries has limited the 2024 10th overall pick to playing nine of 33 possible games since he was drafted. He has struggled through his initial starts, completing 57.3% of his passes while accounting for 15 touchdowns (four rushing) and committing 14 turnovers.

While the Vikings have no shot at the postseason and the Packers are locked into a playoff seed entering Sunday’s game (noon, Ch. 4), O’Connell sees the importance of another game for McCarthy.

Brosmer, an undrafted rookie who played in 2024 for the Gophers, has struggled in two NFL starts against Seattle and Detroit. O’Connell commended Brosmer’s “game-winning” throw on the late third-down conversion to wide receiver Justin Jefferson against the Lions on Christmas Day, but he also noted the obvious issues as Brosmer completed just 9 of 16 passes for 51 yards while taking six sacks.

“He did a really nice job protecting the football,” O’Connell said. “They had their full group in the front seven there for the better part of that game, and there were some times where, ‘Could he have pulled the trigger?’ ... Maybe a throw here or there we could’ve made.”

Wide receiver Myles Price‘s season is over because of an ankle injury suffered against the Lions. He’s not expected to play against the Packers, O’Connell said. The standout rookie returner finishes among the NFL leaders in punt returns (30) and kickoff returns (57) for a coaching staff that gave him the green light to seek a home run play.

He nearly got one, but a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown was called back in the Nov. 2 win at Detroit because of a holding penalty. In that victory, Price also had a 61-yard kickoff return to set up an early Vikings touchdown drive.

Price went down with a non-contact ankle injury in the Dec. 25 win over Detroit. The injury isn’t significant, O’Connell said, but will keep him out for the regular-season finale.

Defensive lineman Elijah Williams, another undrafted rookie who made the team, also has been ruled out for the season finale because of an ankle injury.

O’Connell said four injured players on offense have a chance to play against Green Bay: right tackle Brian O’Neill (heel), tight end T.J. Hockenson (back), and running backs Jordan Mason (ankle) and Aaron Jones (hip/ankle).