First, you never want to see a player get injured, and it’s sad to see J.J. McCarthy have to miss his rookie season due to a knee injury, but the injury could’ve helped save his career in a unique way.
Playing quarterback in the NFL is not easy, and many first-round rookie quarterbacks have their share of struggles in their first season, which sometimes leads them down a very bad road for the rest of their careers.
Look at the quarterbacks drafted in the first round of the 2021 draft. Justin Fields, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, and Mac Jones are already on their second team heading into their fourth year. The only quarterback left standing is Trevor Lawrence, one of the best quarterback prospects to ever come out of college, and he has even had a rough start in the NFL.
J.J. McCarthy was a first-round pick, but he wasn’t one of the top guys, and he was the fifth quarterback to be selected in this year’s draft, so he would need a good amount of time to sit and learn the league before playing.
J.J. McCarthy Now Can Sit And Learn The NFL
The only issue was that veteran Sam Darnold was expected to be the starting quarterback for a little bit, and McCarthy would come in and play probably by October since Darnold is not a long-term answer for the team.
McCarthy was not sitting the entire season and would get thrown into a situation he probably wasn’t ready for.
With the injury, McCarthy will not be able to sit for the entire year and learn what it takes to be a quarterback at the NFL level.
I’m not saying he’s Patrick Mahomes, but Mahomes sat for an entire season behind Alex Smith, and he benefited greatly from it.
