The Minnesota Vikings and J.J. McCarthy's injury troubles could continue for another week at least.

McCarthy, the quarterback Minnesota drafted with the 10th overall pick last year, did not play a down in 2024 due to surgery to repair a torn meniscus. This year, while being named the Vikings' starter to begin the season, McCarthy suffered a sprained ankle in Week 2 as a result of an awkward tackle from behind against the Atlanta Falcons.

The injury, while not forcing him out of the game vs. Atlanta, did cause McCarthy to miss both last week's shellacking of the Cincinnati Bengals, as well as today's game vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers in Dublin, Ireland. And it sounds like he will likely miss next week's showdown with the Cleveland Browns in London, too.

“McCarthy's still dealing with that high ankle sprain,” NFL Network's Tom Pelissero said earlier today. “They've not ruled out McCarthy for next week's game in London against the Browns, but it sounds like that's a long shot. The priority is getting McCarthy fully healthy on that high ankle sprain. We'll see if he can practice it all next week and go from there.”

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In his NFL debut, McCarthy completed 13 of his 20 passing attempts for 143 yards, a pair of touchdowns, and one interception. He also rushed for a touchdown and 25 yards while leading the Vikings to a come-from-behind 27-24 win against their NFC North rival, the Chicago Bears.

His Week 2 performance left much more to be desired; he had 11 completions and 10 incompletions, threw for 158 yards, no touchdowns, and two interceptions, and he fumbled the ball three times, losing one, amid a 22-6 defeat to Atlanta.

McCarthy's backup, Carson Wentz, shone bright in his first start with the Vikings, throwing for 173 yards and two touchdowns as Minnesota dominated the Bengals, who coincidentally started their backup in Jake Browning as well.

Next week's Vikings-Browns game is set for an 8:30 a.m. CT kickoff from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.