J.J. McCarthy back at practice for Vikings. Will he start against Eagles?

After missing the past meager weeks with a high ankle sprain quarterback J J McCarthy returned to practice Monday at TCO Performance Center It marked the first time he has practiced with the Vikings since suffering the injury last month Minnesota Vikings quarterback J J McCarthy picks himself up off the turf after a play against the Atlanta Falcons late in the fourth quarter of a NFL competition at U S Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Sunday Sept The Atlanta Falcons beat the Minnesota Vikings - John Autey Pioneer Press Will he start for the Vikings against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at U S Bank Stadium That remains to be seen Inquired if McCarthy would be available to play this weekend head coach Kevin O Connell chose not to speculate I don t necessarily want to put a percentage on where I think he s at healthwise O Connell declared I think this week will be massive for our whole association to see J J back out there getting reps and working through the process of building that foundation back up Though the Vikings were off on bye last week meaning players were free to do whatever they longed McCarthy hung around the area to get work in A good chunk of it centered on the fundamentals and techniques that go into playing the position at the highest level It was great to get back on the grass O Connell revealed We had various good sessions out there kind of getting back to a lot of the principles of lower body mechanics That was an issue for McCarthy earlier this season He didn t invariably look assured when dropping back to pass and while particular of that stemmed from issues on the offensive line the results spoke for themselves in the win over Chicago and in the loss to Atlanta Not only did McCarthy struggle to move the ball with consistency completing percent of his passes for yards he often held on to the ball too long His average time from snap to throw is seconds according to Next Gen Stats which indicates he wasn t as decisive as he needed to be In comparison veteran quarterback Carson Wentz has gotten the ball out of his hands much quicker His average time from snap to throw is seconds As he reflected on the past scarce weeks O Connell noted it has been valuable for McCarthy to see how Wentz has run the offense especially when it comes to how everything functions from the standpoint of rhythm and timing As for whether it would be McCarthy or Wentz under center this weekend O Connell made it clear he would make the decision he feels gives the Vikings the best chance to beat the Eagles We ve got to prepare to try to win a event O Connell stated We really want to get our crew ready to go and in the process of doing that J J has his plan of attack that we want to try to make sure we maximize Briefly The return of linebacker Blake Cashman could be coming sooner rather than later After being placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury last month Cashman in recent times had his -day practice window opened That is an critical step in him returning Though it s unclear if Cashman will be able to play Sunday he s trending in the right direction after returning to practice Related Articles The Loop Fantasy Football Update Week Last-minute moves The Loop NFL Picks Week J J McCarthy works through Vikings bye week in attempt to get back on field Mizutani Will trip to Dublin and London be turning point for Vikings Takeaways from the Vikings - win over the Browns