The Minnesota Vikings officially ended the season of rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy on Friday, placing him on injured reserve two days after surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.
To fill his roster spot, the Vikings signed free agent quarterback Matt Corral, a third-round pick of the Carolina Panthers who has also spent time with the New England Patriots and the UFL's Birmingham Stallions. Corral will join quarterbacks Sam Darnold, Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall on the Vikings' roster.
McCarthy suffered his injury at an undetermined point in an otherwise uplifting preseason debut Aug. 10 against the Las Vegas Raiders. He completed 11 of 17 passes for 188 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception while also scrambling twice for 18 yards.
He reported knee soreness Monday to team medical officials and had surgery Wednesday morning. He will be the only first-round quarterback in the history of the modern draft era (since 1967) to miss his entire rookie season because of an injury.