Vikings' J.J. McCarthy becomes first first
Vikings' J.J. McCarthy becomes first first-round quarterback to miss entire rookie season due to injury
He is the eighth first-round quarterback not to play their rookie season
By Shanna McCarriston • 1 min readJ.J. McCarthy has made NFL history, but not for the reason he wants. McCarthy will have to wait for his NFL debut, as the Minnesota Vikings quarterback will miss the entire 2024 season with a torn meniscus. After undergoing season-ending surgery on Wednesday, McCarthy becomes just the eighth quarterback selected in the first round of the common draft era (since 1967) to miss the entire rookie season.
He is the very first of the group to ever miss his debut season due to injury.
Here is a look at the other first-round quarterbacks who missed their rookie season, along with the team they were on at the time and the reason they didn't take any snaps in Year 1:
Player | Year | Team | Draft No. | Reason |
J.J. McCarthy | 2024 | Minnesota Vikings | No. 10 | Injury |
Jordan Love | 2020 | Green Bay Packers | No. 26 | Backup to Aaron Rodgers |
Jason Campbell | 2005 | Washington | No. 25 | Backup to Mark Brunell |
Carson Palmer | 2003 | Cincinnati Bengals | No. 1 | Backup to Jon Kitna |
Kelly Stouffer | 1987 | St. Louis Cardinals/Seattle Seahawks | No. 6 | Contract dispute |
Jim Kelly | 1983 | Buffalo Bills/Houston Gamblers | No. 14 | Played in USFL |
Ken O'Brien | 1983 | New York Jets | No. 24 | Backup to Richard Todd |
Steve Pisarkiewicz | 1977 | St. Louis Cardinals | No. 19 | Backup to Jim Hart |
McCarthy was drafted with the No. 10 overall pick, with the team needing to fill a void after losing veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins to the Atlanta Falcons this offseason. As training camp has ramped up, the Vikings' options to lead the offense were between McCarthy and Sam Darnold, with the rookie mostly working as QB2.
Darnold is now the likely starter for the 2024 season.