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          Vikings' J.J. McCarthy dealing with bruised hand, limited

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          Kirk Herbstreit shares his optimism for J.J. McCarthy (1:54)

          Kirk Herbstreit joins "The Pat McAfee Show" and shares his confidence in J.J. McCarthy with the Vikings. (1:54)

          • Kevin SeifertNov 12, 2025, 06:12 PM ET
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              Kevin Seifert is a staff writer who covers the Minnesota Vikings and the NFL at ESPN. Kevin has covered the NFL for over 20 years, joining ESPN in 2008. He was previously a beat reporter for the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Washington Times. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia.
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          EAGAN, Minn. -- Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy is dealing with another injury.

          McCarthy was a limited participant in practice Wednesday because of a bruised hand he sustained in the third quarter of the Vikings' 27-19 loss Sunday to the Baltimore Ravens.

          Both McCarthy and coach Kevin O'Connell downplayed the impact the injury will have on his preparation for Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears, but it was clear Wednesday that McCarthy was not 100%.

          He wore padding on the hand, which O'Connell said was to protect against another round of swelling, and did not throw any right-handed passes during the portion of practice open to reporters. He did jokingly toss a few left-handed throws.

          For most of his weekly news conference with local reporters, McCarthy kept both hands inside the pocket of his hoodie.

          Earlier in the day, O'Connell said that "everything checked out" and added: "Don't see that affecting really his week of preparation very much at all."

          The injury occurred with 2 minutes, 31 seconds left in the third quarter. After throwing toward receiver Justin Jefferson in the end zone, McCarthy's hand hit the helmet of left guard Donovan Jackson. In the fourth quarter, McCarthy's off-target rate rose to 40% as he completed only 6 of 16 attempts, according to ESPN Research.

          "If you get your hand slammed in a car door, it's going to feel different for everything you do with that hand," he said. "There's no excuses. We're warriors and we've got to push through."

          McCarthy missed 23 of his first 25 NFL games because of injuries to his right knee and right ankle. He returned from the latter ailment in Week 9 and has started only four of the Vikings' nine games this season.

          Although there is no indication that he will be unavailable for Sunday's game, the Vikings have placed particular emphasis on McCarthy's practice reps as they work to develop him as their long-term starter. McCarthy missed a Sept. 11 practice to attend the birth of his son, Rome, and O'Connell has noted several occasions how the missed time might have impacted his performance in a Sept. 14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.