Latest news with #J.J.McCarthy
New York Times
8 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Offseason All-Hype Team heralds NFL's return. Plus: Shannon Sharpe out at ESPN
The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic's daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox. Good morning! We made it, kind of: NFL football is technically here today. And thus, so is Jacob Robinson, author of our excellent (and free!) Scoop City newsletter: The NFL season is almost here, and it might ruin everything. Just as fans in Chicago and New York settle into the comfort of optimism and your favorite 49ers running back returns healthy, the preseason arrives to spoil the party. I couldn't be more excited. Tonight, the Los Angeles Chargers and Detroit Lions kick off the 2025 preseason with the Hall of Fame game at 8 p.m. ET. Before reality exposes our offseason heroes, I've compiled my first annual All-Hype Team, which is based on a proprietary formula of meaningless highlights and tangible opportunities. Some big names on the first-team offense: Head coach: Ben Johnson, Bears. The vibes are great in Chicago, where it's been Johnson's show since the former Lions OC agreed to join the Bears on a contract reportedly worth $13 million per year. With his offense slowly making strides and his staff — which includes former Saints head coach Dennis Allen as defensive coordinator — continuing to win over the players and fan base, is this the most optimistic Bears fans have felt since … last preseason? Advertisement Quarterback: J.J. McCarthy, Vikings. Surrounded by one of the league's most talented rosters, the 22-year-old has everything a first-year starter could ask for: a world-class play caller in head coach Kevin O'Connell, a stout offensive line, talented skill position players and sole control of the starting role. His progress was Minnesota's biggest question heading into training camp, and he's checked most boxes since. Running back: Omarion Hampton, Chargers. I was skeptical of the North Carolina rookie's opportunity level in 2025, as he was set to compete with Najee Harris, the league's only running back who has played every regular-season game since 2021. But a freak fireworks accident sidelined Harris indefinitely, and now Hampton is gaining valuable first-team reps. It's hard to overstate his upside in the league's most run-heavy offense, but a Saquon Barkley-like rookie season is on the table. See for yourself, as the Chargers' first-round pick will make his debut tonight in the Hall of Fame game. Sidebar for the best offseason moment: Jim Harbaugh in awe of his quarterback, Justin Herbert. Receiver: Emeka Egbuka, Buccaneers. Few rookies draw such universal praise as the Ohio State product, who is 'an absolute stud,' according to his quarterback, Baker Mayfield, and 'going to be an unbelievable playmaker,' per fellow receiver Mike Evans. Offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard also had glowing praise for the 22-year-old rookie. The Athletic's Nick Baumgardner even compared Egbuka to the Chargers' Ladd McConkey, who set franchise records in his rookie season. Sheesh. Tight end: Kyle Pitts, Falcons. Positive sentiment toward Pitts always ages like milk. Yet here I am again, allowing one training camp highlight of the 24-year-old to make me declare he is in the best shape since his rookie season, when he had 1,026 receiving yards. Our Falcons beat reporter Josh Kendall examined whether Pitts can be trusted for your fantasy team. Wish me luck. We've got plenty more preseason standouts in today's edition of Scoop City, which you can subscribe to here. ESPN cuts ties with Sharpe Pro Football Hall of Famer and media analyst Shannon Sharpe is out at ESPN less than two weeks after he settled a lawsuit in which his ex-girlfriend accused him of rape, The Athletic's Andrew Marchand reported yesterday. Sharpe, 57, has not been on ESPN since late April, when the suit was first filed. More details here. Advertisement MLB trade deadline heats up Among the flurry of action yesterday, ahead of today's MLB trade deadline at 6 p.m. ET: The Mariners acquired slugger Eugenio Suárez (one of the most-coveted players on the market) late last night, the Phillies pulled off a blockbuster deal for star Twins closer Jhoan Duran, the Reds got third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes from the Pirates and the Mets traded for Giants reliever Tyler Rogers and Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley. Our MLB staff is grading all of the 2025 deals here; follow our trade deadline live blog today for more updates and analysis. We'll have a full Pulse breakdown for you tomorrow. More news 📺 WNBA: Valkyries vs. Mystics 7:30 p.m. ET on Prime Video Golden State remains on the playoff cusp (current No. 9 seed) after edging out Atlanta two nights ago, and here, the Valkyries take on the current 8-seed and attempt to get back to .500. Can they build some momentum? 📺 NFL: Chargers vs. Lions 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock As mentioned above, this is the preseason opener in Canton, Ohio. We're so back. Get tickets to games like these here. Jayna Bardahl has a great feature out today on the making of the 'NFL Top 100,' the league's annual player-driven poll, and our complicated relationship with it. Entertaining. Zack Meisel and Yuriko Schumacher explored which MLB teams are trading pals (or foes) in this informative piece with excellent interactive data visualizations. Five years on, Joe Vardon compiled an oral history of the NBA's pandemic bubble, with reflections from players, coaches, executives and journalists who were there with him. Allowing MLB to institute a salary cap would be an insult to Curt Flood's legacy, as Ian O'Connor writes. A couple of new, exciting soccer hires joined us at The Athletic this week: former U.S. men's national team forward Charlie Davies, who'll be an expert contributor, and senior writer Henry Bushnell. Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Evan Drellich and Matt Gelb's report on the aftermath of Bryce Harper's confrontation with Rob Manfred. Most-read on the website yesterday: The news of ESPN parting with Shannon Sharpe. Ticketing links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
Newsweek
a day ago
- Sport
- Newsweek
Vikings Teammate Sends Clear Message on JJ McCarthy
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Minnesota Vikings and quarterback J.J. McCarthy are heading into the 2025 NFL season facing major questions. After a 2024 season that saw the Vikings finish the year with a 14-3 record and be one of the best teams in the NFL, there are a lot of expectations. McCarthy, who will be heading into his first year as the starting quarterback, will have big shoes to fill. Last season, Sam Darnold was the starting quarterback in Minnesota. He threw for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions, while completing 66.2 percent of his pass attempts. J.J. McCarthy #9 of the Minnesota Vikings looks on in the second quarter of the preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders at U.S. Bank Stadium on August 10, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. J.J. McCarthy #9 of the Minnesota Vikings looks on in the second quarter of the preseason game against the Las Vegas Raiders at U.S. Bank Stadium on August 10, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photo byMcCarthy missed all of his rookie season in 2024 due to a knee injury. He was unable to get on the field reps, which would have been valuable for him. Read more: Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers Doesn't Hold Back About Mike Tomlin Despite that fact, the Vikings are full of confidence when it comes to McCarthy. Minnesota had an opportunity to pursue a one-year deal with Aaron Rodgers. It passed on that chance to stay loyal to McCarthy. What kind of player should the Vikings expect McCarthy to be? One of his teammates spoke out with a clear message about the second-year signal caller. During an interview on CBS, running back Aaron Jones opened up about McCarthy. "He has a strong arm, he's mobile, athletic... he's super athletic," Jones said. His last meaningful time on the field was with the Michigan Wolverines in college. McCarthy led that team to a national championship win under the leadership of Jim Harbaugh. He's hoping to bring those winnings ways with him to Minnesota. There is never an easy way to predict what a young quarterback will become in the NFL. McCarthy is a major question mark. Read more: Browns HC Gives Shedeur Sanders Training Camp Update On one hand, he could be the driving force that takes the Vikings to the Super Bowl. Perhaps he can put together a similar or even better season to the one that Darnold had last year. Or, he could end up struggling and Minnesota might take a big step in the wrong direction. Clearly, the Vikings are all-in on him. They believe in his ability and will get their first look at him when the 2025 NFL season kicks off. Hopefully, he'll be able to rise to the occasion and put to rest all of the questions that have been surrounding him. For more on the Minnesota Vikings and general NFL news, head over to Newsweek Sports.
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
What are expectations for Vikings' J.J. McCarthy heading into the preseason in 2025?
What can we expect from J.J. McCarthy in his second season after he missed his entire rookie campaign? Of the six quarterbacks taken in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, McCarthy is the only one with nothing to build upon in 2025. He's a complete unknown, even if his head coach and supporting cast are upper-echelon. Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report believes that because he didn't play in 2024, McCarthy's 2025 season should be treated as his rookie season. McCarthy is ranked last among the six quarterbacks in expected improvement because of his lost rookie year. Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy can't improve upon his rookie season when he didn't even play thanks to an MCL tear he experienced during preseason. He has yet to establish a baseline. For all intents and purposes, McCarthy is entering his rookie campaign. The Vikings didn't skip a beat without last year's 10th overall pick in the lineup. Sam Darnold experienced a career revival during his one season in Minnesota, while the team finished with a 14-3 record. Darnold left in free agency to join the Seattle Seahawks this offseason. Meanwhile, the Vikings are handing McCarthy the keys to the offense. That doesn't mean that Sobleski doesn't believe McCarthy can be a capable starter, though. He believes that his time spent with Kevin O'Connell will help. McCarthy just has to put it together with his physical abilities to become the complete quarterback Minnesota envisions. Despite not playing as a rookie, head coach Kevin O'Connell did what he could to help in the quarterback's development. "I just wanted to give him a platform with me," O'Connell told ESPN's Kevin Seifert. "Maybe it was football one day. Maybe it was no football. My time is very hard to find during the season, but I just wanted to make sure that we got together. "The one thing I learned about him in those meetings is he had great questions, and that validated that he was receiving and getting something out of that time. And as I've told him, it doesn't really guarantee you anything, but once you're fighting the fight on a daily basis of growing within the system, he would be able to rely on some of what we did together."It's now time for McCarthy to translate all of the mental reps he took as a rookie and translate them to the field. That, and a roster that should include an improved run game, have given fans hope that the Vikings can advance further in the playoffs than they did in 2024. And being viewed as a "rookie" shouldn't disqualify the Vikings from NFC Championship aspirations, as Jayden Daniels led the Washington Commanders that far last year.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Minnesota Vikings training camp notebook, day 6: Defense has a strong showing
The Minnesota Vikings were in pads for the first time on Monday. That means we're one step closer to football, with players in the trenches able to get physical and give us a better glimpse of what they're capable of moving forward. One promising young player had a great practice in pads. A free agent addition made his first appearance in team drills. And we saw another highlight touchdown pass from J.J. McCarthy. Let's go over some of the highlights of Day 6 of Vikings practice. But overall, the Vikings' defense bounced back after the offense had the upper hand on Saturday. That is bound to happen in the third year under Brian Flores with an even more formidable defensive front than last year. J.J. McCarthy continues to impress McCarthy had another highlight touchdown pass on Monday. After feeling some pressure in the pocket, McCarthy fired down the left sideline towards wide receiver Lucky Jackson. It appeared that safety Theo Jackson could intercept the pass, but the ball arrived a split second before he could get a hand on it. The pass once again displayed McCarthy's arm strength and willingness to be aggressive. A worse pass (or faster safety) could have led to an interception. Will Fries makes his debut in team drills One of the Vikings' biggest free agent additions of the offseason made his first appearance in team drills. Right guard Will Fries, who suffered a broken tibia in 2024, was cleared to practice when camp began last Thursday, but he was limited to individual work. On Monday, he was inserted into the starting lineup in 11-on-11 drills. Dallas Turner makes an impact Dallas Turner was limited to 310 defensive snaps in 2024. But he showed why the Vikings traded up to select him in the NFL draft. Several Vikings media members talked about Turner's impact on Monday, with one highlight making the rounds on X/Twitter when he got to backup quarterback Sam Howell before he could complete a pass downfield. Turner continues to draw praise as he looks to impact the defense more consistently in 2025. Metellus returns, Jefferson out Josh Metellus returned to practice after missing Friday and Saturday practices with an ankle injury. It was the safety's first practice back since signing his three-year, $36 million deal on Saturday. Justin Jefferson, who suffered a mild hamstring strain last week, was still out. Overall, it seemed as though the defense got the better end of the deal on Monday. The Vikings' social media team even singled out a pass breakup by cornerback Dwight McGlothern that was intercepted by safety Jay Ward. We'll see if the Vikings' offense can bounce back on Tuesday, but they will likely have many more tough practices if the defense is as strong as the coaching staff and front office envision it to be. This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: Vikings training camp notebook, day 6: Defense has a strong showing
USA Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Michigan football's passing offense doesn't need to be exceptional, just functional
When people don't expect much of a change to Michigan football's offensive prowess entering 2025, they may not realize that there's nowhere to go but up. The Wolverines' passing attack under former offensive coordinator Kirk Campbell with a trio of quarterbacks (Davis Warren, Alex Orji, Jack Tuttle) had the worst yards per attempt in the country. Not the conference -- the country. Averaging just 5.4 yards per passing attempt, it was literally half of the country's leader, Ole Miss. As a result, Michigan had the No. 127 offense ranked by yards per play -- brought down mostly by the ineptitude in the aerial attack, given that the rushing attack was middling, at 77th in average yards per rushing attempt. While pundits don't give much credit to the 2021-23 Michigan passing attacks, in the national championship year, 2023, J.J. McCarthy led the 15th-best offense by yards per attempt. It was 24th the year before and 37th in 2021. Even the lowly COVID year (with Joe Milton and Cade McNamara at the helm) was 70th -- again, in the middle of the pack. Part of it was the lackluster completion percentage. But Michigan was 61st in the country -- not a terrible mark overall, but certainly numbers that pale in comparison to 2023 when J.J. McCarthy led a room that was third nationally with a completion percentage of 72%. But the mixture of mediocre completion percentage with shallow depth of field attempt-wise meant that the passing game did next to nothing to help out the offense. Ranking offenses by 20-yard plays, Michigan was dead last, at 134th overall. It was 29th in 2023, 54th in 2022, and 44th in 2021. In 2021, Michigan had the second-most long scrimmage plays above 50 yards (though that included the run and the pass) with 17. The Wolverines were 129th last year with just two. The maize and blue don't have to be that explosive (they weren't in 2023), they just have to be functional and methodical. While many place the onus on Bryce Underwood to lift the Wolverines out of the doldrums, the true freshman doesn't have to be a hero in order to get Michigan to the point where it is capable. Cade McNamara wasn't thought of as a world-beater, and yet, he led U-M to a win over Ohio State, a Big Ten Championship, and a College Football Playoff berth. When pundits insist that Underwood has to be ahead of schedule (to which, ahead of the typical schedule or his own development schedule?) ignores who Michigan has been over the past four years. It didn't work last year, but the identity is one that has been likened to a boa constrictor -- the offense does just enough (or more) while the defense makes every possession crucial for the opponent. By the end of the game, the line play on both sides have worn down the Wolverines' foe, and the opposing team leaves the field broken, dejected, and with another number in the loss column. Michigan doesn't need Underwood to play hero ball at this juncture; it just needs him to run the offense. And it needs the offensive line to be better than it was last year -- something that would be aided with the promised, more-downfield passing game. So long as the Wolverines can get back into at least the middle of the pack in terms of yards per attempt, that will take a lot of pressure off of both the run game and the defense. And that should be absolutely doable for Bryce Underwood and new offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey -- who had the 59th-best YPA passing attack, even after Drake Maye left the Tar Heels.
