J.J. McCarthy loss could be more damaging to Vikings' future than present

The Vikings were already a long shot to make the playoffs before the team announced quarterback J.J. McCarthy (meniscus) would miss the regular season.

While McCarthy's injury setback might not have much of an impact on the 2024 standings, it is more problematic for the Vikings in 2025 and beyond.

NFL insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported on Wednesday that McCarthy "underwent a full meniscus repair this morning and is out for the 2024 season."

Per Sports Illustrated , the Vikings ranked last in division-title odds on Aug. 1, before McCarthy suffered his season-ending injury.

Minnesota is in arguably the toughest division in football, with the Lions and Packers coming off playoff appearances and the Bears selecting quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 overall pick in April's draft.

With the playoffs being a challenging goal, one way the Vikings could have had a successful season was to leave 2024 knowing they had a franchise quarterback on their roster.

Instead of Minnesota seeing what it has in its 2024 first-round draft pick (No. 10 overall), the Vikings must wait a year to begin learning whether McCarthy is the answer.

The team's timeline to contending could be delayed. While sitting on the sideline isn't always a bad thing, McCarthy's lack of in-game reps for an entire season could set him back from his contemporaries.

Other teams, including the Bears, Commanders and Broncos, should gain valuable insight into their 2024 first-round quarterbacks, but the Vikings won't have the same luxury.

His injury's impact on the rest of the roster is just as troublesome.

Minnesota doesn't need to worry about losing wide receiver Justin Jefferson anytime soon after signing him to a historic four-year, $140 million extension, the richest ever for a non-quarterback, this offseason.

But it probably didn't envision Jefferson catching passes from Sam Darnold and an inexperienced McCarthy as he attempts to return from knee surgery in the two seasons before his cap number balloons in 2026.

That's a waste of two valuable prime years of Jefferson's career and will make adding a quarterback if McCarthy struggles difficult.

Per Over The Cap , Jefferson's cap hit is $8.6 million in 2024 and $15.2 million in 2025. It balloons to roughly $39 million in 2026 and escalates from there, to $43.5 million in 2027 and $47.5 million in 2028, the final year of the contract.

McCarthy's season-ending surgery makes Minnesota's present bleak. Even worse, the Vikings have no way of knowing what lies ahead in their future.