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Kevin Seifert, ESPN Staff Writer
EAGAN, Minn. — Minnesota Vikings rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy reported right knee soreness to medical officials Monday, coach Kevin O’Connell said, and will not participate in the team’s night practice.
The news came two days after McCarthy’s encouraging preseason debut Saturday in a 24-23 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. He completed 11 of 17 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns, while also scrambling twice for 18 yards, and there was no indication of an injury either during or after the game.
O’Connell removed him late in the third quarter once he hit his scheduled play count of 30 snaps.
“Out of precaution,” O’Connell said Monday, “we’re going to continue an evaluation on him and get some more testing done. [He is a] very important player, obviously, so we want to make sure we’re smart before he participates, making sure we have a good understanding of where he’s at.”
O’Connell later referred to McCarthy’s situation as “some kind of routine soreness that a lot of guys after their first preseason game sometimes come in with, and it was something we wanted to be smart about.”
O’Connell said he did not know whether McCarthy would travel with the team this week to Cleveland, where the Vikings will participate in a pair of joint practices with the Browns and then play a preseason game Saturday. While Sam Darnold has been the Vikings’ No. 1 quarterback throughout training camp, McCarthy was scheduled to begin receiving increased practice snaps with the first-team offense this week, O’Connell said.
The Vikings have a total of four quarterbacks on their training camp roster, with Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall joining Darnold and McCarthy.