Kevin O’Connell on Carson Wentz’s Shoulder Injury, J.J. McCarthy Starting Against Lions & More

Kevin O’Connell on Carson Wentz’s Shoulder Injury, J.J. McCarthy Starting Against Lions & More

Good afternoon everybody. Um big week for our team. Obviously um going to have a critical stretch, eight, you know, eight straight weeks where we’ll have Sunday games allowing our team to have, you know, full um good weeks of preparation and um obviously an NFC North game on the road. We’re one and0 this year in the NFC North. We’ve got to try to um compete like crazy in a really, you know, really talented division, a tough place to go play. Um Dan, you know, Dan Campbell, one of the best head coaches in the NFL, getting his team ready to play. So, it’s going to be a challenge. Um coming off of a little extra time. Um continuing to uh you know, get some guys, you know, recovered and rested and looking forward to getting on the practice field today. Um as you guys saw, we did put Carson Wentz on injured reserve and and signed John Wolford to the practice squad. Um, you know, Carson is just, uh, he’s been, you know, everything we had hoped and more when he arrived from a veteran experience. Um, guy that, uh, you know, clearly loves football, loves everything about, you know, what he’s what he’s, uh, joined here in Minnesota and and it’s been fun. Um, coaching Carson can’t say enough about his just desire to compete and play and try to take advantage of the opportunity, um, that he had to uh, to help us win. And he he did that twice. and and played um some really good football through for us uh throughout with so many things um happening to our team and being kind of a steady uh force during that time. Just want to commend um him for that. And you know, he’s going to get fixed up. also have uh his uh his baby girl and and still be around our quarterback room and and be around our our young guys in that room, you know, as a uh as a real uh foundational piece in that room with all his experiences uh to go along with it. But, uh JJ uh you McCarthy will, you know, have a full week of preparation. um he’s in a uh a really good place from a health standpoint and has been really um he’s made multiple comments to me about just you know the the the throughout the rehab, but being able to watch Carson um play the position, play it as a new player in our offense and see see ways he was able to distribute the football um get the ball out of his hands, completions and and the the positive that effect that had on the offense um in in every capacity. So excited about getting on the field. Got some other guys um working their way back as well and and feel good about, you know, where our team’s going to be at to go attack this week of practice. Open it up to you guys. We just talked to Carson about it. Can you offer some insight in just the decisions that were make that are happening in the second half Thursday about whether to leave him in or whether to pull him out of the game? Yeah, I think you know it goes it goes back to the starting point of you know when he first kind of sustained the injury against Cleveland. um able to come back in the game um and finish that game and and then we were able to kind of determine with further testing that his you know he had a torn labroom in his non-throwing kind of left shoulder and and uh you know our medical team you know which you know between our training staff and doctors here locally which I I believe is the best in the National Football League but then also consulting so you know the top the top people in and in their fields um orthopedic surgeon wise and you know, it was determined that if Carson wanted to give it a go, he could and it would be more of a kind of a pain tolerance thing, but he was able to, you know, get his strength and feel like he was capable of going in and playing. He had some really good practices. Um, and and we felt we felt uh encouraged by giving, you know, Carson the opportunity to kind of make the call and then commit to it. and uh and he did that and just the the competitiveness and the ability to you know what he showed his teammates and and you know a lot of things about loving football and competing and and trying to you know leave it all out there for your team. um you know as a coach you you want to give players the opportunity to do that but always after um you know you consult with with the medical staff and that consultation has to start begin and start with the player and the medical staff and as a coach you you have to allow that to happen before uh you’re a part of the conversations at all and then the conversations are purely um you know in what’s in the best interest of the player and at that point um Carson thought what was in the best interest of him was getting to play football and quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings and felt, you know, equipped and capable to do that. In regards to the second half, you know, it was one of those things where after, you know, every drive, you know, um you can visually see that that uh you know, he took some hits and was was in pain. Um and and making sure, you know, before we put him back on the field that uh really that the dynamic had not changed. It was just circumstances of uh you know him kind of managing it and then when the time came to take him out of the game, it was a football football decision and and wanted to make sure that uh you know we we did right by him there late in the game when uh it was kind of out of reach. But the way we operate we where where we believe we’re out of reach might be a little different than than how folks watching the game uh might believe it to be. and and you know, we’ve had some games where thank goodness we had that mindset cuz we found a way to win some of those. Um, and that’s just the belief that uh the guys have. And when you got a guy like that that’s committed to play through something, um, as long as the medical staff doesn’t doesn’t give me any new information to that, um, you know, that’s kind of how that took place. when it comes to letting him play in the second half and whatnot, him telling you he’s good to go. Was there ever a thought in your mind where it’s like maybe I should protect this guy and pull him out because he’s taking a beating here? Yeah, I think you know the once again like there you’re always there is a level as as the coach where your responsibility um as much as I care for these players and the relationships that I’ve built with these players, that’s always there um for sure. Um but at the same time um I think it’s you know if if the medical staff is giving you information and the player is giving you information to kind of confirm that um you know it’s it becomes a football decision at that point um to go along with what’s in the best interest of the the health of the player and when he’s deemed to be really uh we went into this thing knowing it was kind of a pain tolerance situation and and and he would be able to play through it and and not make it worse until he inevit itably had to, you know, make the decision that that we met and talked about to get the surgery. Uh you you you have an obligation also to the player to let them, you know, compete and see it through to a certain point where then you have to be smart as a head coach and do what’s best for the player. So independent of where the game’s at or you know whether you’re close or still in it or not like what’s in your mind and maybe it’s different for every coach but in your mind like what’s the level that independent of all those things if a guy is in pain you take him out just for that reason. Yeah I I think uh there’s there’s an absolute level there and I think you have to uh make that decision and and ultimately that’s that’s not a decision you make solely Kevin on your own. Um it comes with a lot more you know people from a lot more people with expertise and and can then ultimately you know when you ask a player like can you still go is it is it is it uh can you go out there and play and they said absolutely nothing’s changed it’s just you know I can I can still go you you then have to make the decision you know as the head coach and that’s my responsibility but you’re seeing him like I don’t know how much you can see from the side he referenced that people on the sidelines can’t always see what the TV copy shows But are you seeing the expressions on his face? No, I mean that’s, you know, I know the the TV copies, especially in in those games where there’s quite they can they see everything. You know, you’re you’re trying to, you know, you’re trying to see it as much as you can and then really it comes down to the dialogue with the player and and you know, after the medical staff’s had a chance to uh check in with him as well. So, as as visible as it is um to everybody, I understand that. But no, you don’t always get the uh you know, sometimes you do, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes, you know, there might be conversation with the official going on. There might be conversation with the special teams unit, you know, regarding the punt, possible uh fakes, things like that that that things come up where you just can’t be in pure observation mode, especially the way that my role here is as the head coach and and the play caller and having direct dialogue with Flo and Matt Daniels as well. So, I’d love to be able to say that I see it all. That’s where you fall back on um you know the the great staff that we do have and and you try to make the best decision with all the information that you do have with the most important information being um especially with a veteran player who’s been through, you know, quite a few things in his career and has a total understanding of exactly, you know, where his body’s at and and the commitment he made to play. um you lean into that conversation, you know, as much as you do what the doctors are telling you. When you’re balancing the football decision piece of this with the player doing the best interest of the player, how do you make that determination of when it’s reached a point from a football perspective that hey, there’s there’s no more to be gained from this and it’s time to to make the move. Yeah, I I I think that’s where probably the line may might be different for for for some folks compared to either the guy competing on the field or you know the team you know that line might be different but uh there’s absolutely a time for that Ben and and you know I know that and I think you guys know that I know that u I think you know in this in you know this circumstance you know we’ve we managed you know the injury with you know as much communication as possible, as much um information gathering as possible, as much dialogue with the player to make sure uh that everybody knew exactly, you know, what the situation was and and uh you know, he he had played in a game against the Eagles and and kind of, you know, played the whole game and really had no no significant issues. So, um, it was a circumstance of he took some hits in that game as well and and might have had some similar reactions, um, like a lot of guys do when they take some of those hits. That’s, you know, part of playing the quarterback position. And unfortunately with some of the circumstances we’ve had with our offense, that’s, you know, become far too normal. And we’ve got to continue to to work to rectify those things and also, you know, get as healthy as we can at certain spots. So, um, definitely something that that, you know, from a standpoint of managing injuries. Um, I I feel very good about our protocols, our people in place. Um, and I, you know, I think over the the time that I’ve been the head coach here, I think that’s, you know, stood stood up pretty, you know, stood up pretty well. Kevin, with, uh, with JJ, just to be clear, is there anything left that you need to see from him physically in practice or he’s, as of now, he’s ready to go? Kevin, just going back to Thursday night. Um, knowing Carson’s situation and and knowing that you don’t want to put Max in a suboptimal spot, is there ever thought to adding another quarterback who might be more capable in that position? Um, there’s always, you know, we’re always going to try to uh make sure that we can realistically do whatever we can, but I think the unique factor of, you know, we are our our plane left to go to Los Angeles on Wednesday, you know, about 1:00, 2:00, whatever it is. So, you’re really talking about trying to uh gauge the information on where JJ was at. We worked him out Tuesday morning. You start to see the timeline of of once again that’s that’s that’s much more than just um you know adding somebody here locally that can just drive you know hop in the car and get here in a few minutes. it’s, you know, bringing people in physicals, you know, and then that’s not even talking about um some of the, you know, the installation and the teaching that needs to take place uh to have that that person here um and and ready to contribute where they can protect themselves just by being able to do their jobs and and I think it’s a valid question, Alec. I do. I just, you know, under those circumstances, I I I think we uh you know, we tried to handle it the best way we could. on JJ for what did you take away or learn from him about those first two games and the subsequent time now and do you have to adjust your play caller mindset at all to more fit him as opposed to to what might be the optimal play in a with a veteran quarterback Kevin? Yeah, I think it’s I think that’s a it’s a great point. um starting out first part of your question. I think um what we learned in the Chicago game was, you know, he was able to overcome, you know, and our team was able to overcome a slower start than what we hoped for the season. But then, you know, going back and watching that game and um you know, wa I’ve re watched it with JJ recently, just looking at some of the principles of of how he how he played and and when you know the moments in the second half where we were able to I think we generated 170 yards in the final 17 minutes of the game. He had a ton to do with that just by simply being efficient with his feet and and being accurate because of that and uh you know reading progressions and putting the ball in play and throwing completions and then we were able to run the ball as well and it kind of married all together. Um I do think there was you know some unique circumstances with that second game. I’ve I’ve said that before um against Atlanta from his family circumstances of being blessed with a child that week and missing some practice time. As a matter of fact, almost all of it um besides that Friday practice, which as as you guys know is just not the significant amount of uh preparation time that that you’re looking for for a young quarterback to then go out and take that practice preparation to the game. And then on top of that, the injury happened, which, you know, could have um had a little bit more impact on his lower body mechanics um than than had he not sustained that that injury as far as a consistency and doing it the same way every time. Um, he’s had some time to obviously get back on the practice field and spent a lot of time with Josh and myself and and and our guys, you know, during practice, after practice, he’s worked at it and now we get to kind of continue uh hopefully the progression that that we kind of started the season on of going out there. Is it going to be perfect? No. And it doesn’t have to be. It just needs to be um clear and obvious that uh to me that he’s got a good grasp on doing his job, technique, fundamentals, progressions. Um, and I believe in his talent and his ability that that will show up. And then in regards to your second question or second part of the question, um, I I think you’re always trying to match what the player um, you know, can go out there and exceed with. What do they do well? Not only the quarterback, but our whole group. Um, and ultimately figure out the best way to try to then attack what you’re getting from a defensive standpoint to try to put your players in a good situation. And that may be different from Carson to JJ based upon, you know, their ability to execute some things. To to go back now because that Falcons game has come up a lot and you mispracticed. Is there a part of you that regrets playing him that that week against the Falcons? You know, it’s it’s one of those things where uh we know now that you know the the a lot of the things we’re talking about it’s, you know, we know now or after the fact or things like that. Um, I did feel like when we got him back here on that Friday, I did feel like he had a lot of juice and he had a he had a pretty good day that day, but that, you know, transitioning to every phase of a game plan for a a game plan against a good defense and and Atlanta’s turned out to be a pretty darn good one defensively. Um, I don’t regret uh in any way doing that because he was also coming off of, you know, I believe he was the NFC offensive player of the week and then he was healthy and um, it’s hard to take that guy off the field at that point where we had just, you know, six days earlier seen him kind of carry the momentum of the end of that game into the locker room uh, where you know it was a pretty significant moment for a young player in his first start. JJ having the athleticism be part of his game. How difficult is that to balance knowing when to use that but also knowing when he needs to get the ball out quickly to avoid some of the sacks? I think it’s, you know, it’s part of what young player, we can talk about it as much as possible and then you’re in that moment, you know, whether it’s a third down, first down, second down in the red zone, a chance to score. Uh, only, you know, the player, he needs just need, he just needs reps. He just needs time of, you know, the repetition that you can’t get, you know, with a virt. You can’t get answers to those questions um necessarily wearing a red jersey on the practice field. you know, I think he he understands it and he knows how valuable he is to to our team and and the reps for him and continual reps for him and the value of that. So, we’ve talked about it and and I think it is part of his game though. I think it’s an underrated part of his game, but that mindset of protecting myself um within the the sequence of the down where, you know, we can not only be in position for the next down, but we maintain the ability for him to keep playing quarterback is is critical. your backup this week and going forward. Yes. You mentioned watching the Bears game with him um recently. What was the impetus for that? And then what did you take from that? It wasn’t just Yeah, it wasn’t just the Bears game. It was also the Atlanta game and kind of going back because I I think visually there’s some things there that you know are kind of I think visual sometimes is the best form of teaching when a guy can see themselves doing it. Um and then see the you know the difference between the two and then and then you figure out the why. And I think there’s a lot of circumstances as we kind of just talked about um with maybe the root causes of the inconsistency from one game to the next. But then you most importantly talk about the uh how we’re going to fix it and how we’re going to do some things to make sure uh that we can get you in a rhythm and and get you um playing with great, you know, base, body, balance, position. I know I’ve used that term a thousand times with you, but it’s real and it’s a real thing to uh consistently play the position. Um and there’s ways to rep it and drill it. And then you got to bring those things uh to each play regardless of how the previous play went, how the next play is going to go. Um, you gotta those things that you can control from a do your job standpoint yourself at a NFL level, you know, is is what JJ’s continuously working to to make sure that he does. And when he does that, there’s been some really good visual evidence of uh, you know, him playing quarterback. Last one. Kevin, what’s uh Josh Oliver’s outlook coming off the other night with his foot ankle? Yeah, I’m glad you asked. he, you know, he’s got a a kind of a foot sprain um where, you know, he’ll he’ll likely not, you know, have a chance to participate this week and ultimately we’ll be able to probably re-evaluate him next week. Um, but the good news is, you know, we’re, you know, x-rays and everything where it came back to a point where, you know, we avoided kind of that longer term injury with Josh and I know he’s really excited about that. But um as with you know his injury and all the other injuries you know this year that’ll be you know something that uh you know he’ll be working on his rehab as hard as possible to get back uh when he when he’s able to give it a go and and and he feels like he can make that return he’ll be huge to to be back in there. Thank you and

Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell addressed the media from the TCO Performance Center ahead of the Week 9 game against the Detroit Lions.

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