Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy waited a long time for his second taste of NFL game action after tearing his meniscus in his preseason debut last year and the payoff to his long journey back to the lineup hit him during the national anthem on Saturday.
McCarthy said he "had a little tear drop" while listening to the song at U.S. Bank Stadium and called it a "truly awesome" feeling to be back in uniform with his teammates. McCarthy then hit the field for the opening possession and went 4-of-7 for 30 yards while also running once for eight yards on the way to a field goal.
That was all head coach Kevin O'Connell wanted to see from the quarterback and McCarthy felt happy with how things played out.
"I feel like K.O. just thought of this as checking another box," McCarthy said, via the team's website. "He really wanted to see the operation and the fundamentals and doing the simple things at a high level. And I feel like we did that today. Obviously there's a couple things here or there we've got to clean up, but it felt like we left today in a great spot."
The Vikings have two joint practices with the Patriots this week and O'Connell has not committed to any more game action for McCarthy in the preseason now that he's checked that box. Whether O'Connell puts him out there in the next two weeks or not, the next big bocx on the list is Week 1 against the Bears for McCarthy's regular season debut.