Vikings starting QB J.J. McCarthy signs fans’ jerseys at training camp facility

A lot is riding on J.J. McCarthy this season. The first-round pick of the 2024 NFL Draft can be pegged as the face of the season, especially after Sam Darnold’s exit. And McCarthy is starting the season on the right foot by making his fans happy! The QB went around the Vikings' facility on a sweltering day just to make fans happy.

J.J. McCarthy went around Vikings' facility to sign jerseys and talk to fans

The Minnesota Vikings' camp is being held in Eagan, Minnesota, and McCarthy spent hours going around the facility to talk to fans and listen to their requests. In a video shared on social media, McCarthy can be seen wearing a red jersey right outside the facility, interacting with fans who were standing on the overhead bridge and taking jerseys and gear from them to sign. Fans on X praised his commitment to his fans, especially since it was a humid day and McCarthy spent quite a long time outside in the heat just for his fans.

Although fans and top brass have shown their trust in McCarthy, he is yet to win over all his teammates, it might seem. Recently, Vikings’ wide receiver, Justin Jefferson was asked about McCarthy and he was actually slammed by fans for his underwhelming response.“He’s pretty much a rookie,” he said. “Last year pretty much doesn’t count for him. He’s still new to the scheme… You have to have that patience. You’re not really expecting him to have the same mindset as a veteran.

You can’t really have that expectation from him.”It goes without saying that the Vikings have an interesting year ahead after their roster change. They did not sign Aaron Rodgers, let Sam Darnold walk away, and also split with Nick Mullens and Daniel Jones. It has become evident that Vikings consider McCarthy a long-time asset. McCarthy was unable to play in his rookie season because of a torn meniscus in his right knee.

But he did show enough development to make it to 2025 training camp as the Vikings' expected starting quarterback.A few days ago, Minnesota Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell talked about a meeting he had with McCarthy to discuss future strategies. As per reports, they spent an hour meeting one-on-one in O'Connell's office. "The one thing I learned about him in those meetings is that 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,” O’Connell said.