Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy will likely not play against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday due to an ankle sprain.
“We are not planning on having him for Sunday,” Coach Kevin O’Connell said during a news conference on Monday.
He went on to say the team doesn’t see the sprain leading to “any kind of short-term IR thing,” but medical staff are monitoring how McCarthy responds to treatment this week.
The announcement comes less than 24 hours after the Vikings were defeated by the Atlanta Falcons 22-6 at U.S. Bank Stadium. McCarthy was sacked six times and turned the ball over three times in the loss.
With McCarthy likely out, backup QB Carson Wentz is expected to play against the Bengals. Wentz, who signed with Minnesota in August, was the No. 2 overall pick by the Eagles in 2016. He finished third in NFL MVP voting the following season, but tore his ACL in December 2017.
Wentz, 32, is 47-46-1 as a starter and is the only quarterback in NFL history to throw for 4,000 yards in a season without any wide receiver on his team reaching 500 yards receiving.
Kickoff between the Vikings and Bengals is set for noon.
This story will be updated.
contributed to this report.
Nick Lentz
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