Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy is on track to start Sunday against the Washington Commanders after clearing concussion protocol on Thursday.

McCarthy, 22, was a full practice participant for the second consecutive day. He missed last Sunday’s 26-0 loss at Seattle after sustaining a concussion in the prior game, a 23-6 setback at Green Bay. It was his second injury absence of the season, previously missing five games due to a high ankle sprain.

He told reporters on Thursday that he couldn’t pick one play that caused the concussion.

“Every single game kind of feels like you get kicked in the face by a donkey,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy, the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, has struggled this season after missing his entire rookie campaign due to a torn meniscus. In six games, he has completed 54.1% of his passes (86 of 159) for 929 yards with six touchdown passes to 10 interceptions and a 2-4 record.

His passer rating of 57.9 ranks him 46 out of 46 eligible quarterbacks this season.

Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said this week that the emphasis now is on McCarthy making on-field decisions that keep him healthy and available to play, rather than an earlier focus on the quarterback’s mechanics.

“There will be time to fundamentally focus on things and continue building this layer and a foundation that will be important for him into the future,” O’Connell said. “But now it feels like he’s got enough experience. He knows a lot of these principles that we’ve talked about. I want him to have a clear head and a clear mind to just go play, but play with an understanding of the decisions that I make with the ball in my hand, the decisions that I make as a passer, and as we’ve learned, very important as a runner to protect himself and make sure that we can keep him in there.”

Minnesota (4-8) has lost four straight games entering Sunday’s home game against the Commanders (3-9), who have lost seven straight.

–Field Level Media