Minnesota Vikings legend Jared Allen is not necessarily giving up on quarterback J.J. McCarthy just yet, but he has his concerns. The former defensive end believes that 2026 will be a make-or-break year for the rising third-year signal-caller, whose back is already potentially against the wall.
Allen knows that McCarthy has mechanical issues to work through, but he is primarily concerned with the 23-year-old's injury woes. Allen said he sees “potential” in McCarthy, but the Vikings have to capitalize on their championship window and cannot let 2026 be another lost year.
“My biggest question mark right now is, can the kid stay healthy?” Allen said on the ‘Up & Adams Show.' “I think he has some grit. Obviously, he has some good potential, but you got to stay healthy, you got to stay on the field in this league. I think that's the problem.”
"My biggest question is can [J.J. McCarthy] stay healthy… If you can't stay healthy you can't stay the starter."
HOF'er Jared Allen expresses what concerns him the most about the Vikings QB@heykayadams pic.twitter.com/IYvnWsJxUa
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) February 11, 2026
Allen knows the Vikings need to have an urgency with McCarthy to maximize their years with Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison. For that reason, the 43-year-old does not want to see his former team waste another year of the star receivers' prime years.
“From a Vikings standpoint, you're looking at one of the best receiving corps in the league. How long can we sustain? We got a defense that finished the league red-hot, but everybody's getting older. Every year they get older and those pieces start to fall off. So you're waiting for J.J. to mature by year five, six, seven, all of a sudden Justin Jefferson is 10, 12 years in. The whole dynamic changes.”
McCarthy ended the 2025 season with 1,632 passing yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 57.6 percent of his passes. He ended the year on a high note, notching seven total touchdowns to three turnovers in his final four games, but he suffered a hand injury in Week 16 that halted his momentum.
McCarthy played just 10 of the Vikings' 17 games after missing his entire rookie season with a torn meniscus. He has appeared in just 29 percent of Minnesota's games since the team traded up to select him with the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
