Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy calls return from injury a ‘little bit of a reset’ after first full practice

Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy went through his first full practice since Sept. 12 on Wednesday ahead of his return to the starting lineup against the Lions in Detroit on Sunday afternoon.

“I feel like myself again,” said McCarthy, who suffered a high ankle sprain in the Vikings’ loss to Atlanta on Sept. 14. He added in a later answer that “It’s a little bit of a reset,” returning to game action after so much missed time.

McCarthy is on track for his first full week of practice since before the season opener.

As Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell emphasized in recent weeks as McCarthy returned to practice in limited fashion, the 22-year-old did not go through a full traditional week of practice prior to the Week 2 game against the Falcons because of the birth of his son.

Just eight days ago, the Vikings put McCarthy through a workout ahead of the team’s trip to Los Angeles and determined he wasn’t quite ready to play against the Chargers on Thursday night.

McCarthy also worked out on Friday after the team arrived back at TCO Performance Center, and he participated during Monday’s bonus practice session.

“I felt close,” McCarthy said of the workout before the Chargers game. “At the end of the day, it was still a couple things where it felt like my foot was in concrete. You just don’t want to be in that position. ... Not being able to move the way I want to and protect myself was the biggest concern.”

Rookie Max Brosmer will continue serving as the team’s No. 2 quarterback. The Vikings signed quarterback John Wolford to the practice squad Wednesday morning.

McCarthy’s return at quarterback comes at a pivotal point in the season, as the Vikings have dropped below .500 and play their first NFC North game since the Week 1 game against the Bears that McCarthy helped the team win in a comeback.

McCarthy and O’Connell recently rewatched both of McCarthy’s starts this season. McCarthy completed 24 of 41 passes for 301 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions in those appearances — a 27-24 win against the Bears and a 22-6 loss to the Falcons. He took six sacks against Atlanta.

McCarthy said his biggest takeaways in the rewatches came down to how important simple things like his progression through reads and footwork can be to creating success.

O’Connell echoed that in a way, talking about the pair’s discussion of getting into a rhythm and playing with great base, balance and body position as a start to fixing larger issues.

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Outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel spoke for the first time since Week 3, the last time he appeared in a game for the Vikings this season.

After missing a chunk of training camp because of a neck injury, Van Ginkel suffered a concussion in the season opener against the Bears that he said re-aggravated his neck injury.

He played only nine snaps against the Bengals in Week 3 and has been out since. Wednesday was his first full practice since Sept. 19.

“I feel really good about where I’m at,” Van Ginkel said, adding it’s his goal to return to game action on Sunday.

Van Ginkel made seven tackles, had two sacks and had a quarterback hurry in just 69 snaps played between the Bears and Bengals games.

Tight end Josh Oliver is unlikely to play against the Lions, O’Connell said Wednesday. He’ll be re-evaluated next week.

Oliver suffered a right foot sprain early in the Vikings’ loss to the Chargers on Thursday. He played only four offensive snaps.

“The good news is X-rays and everything came back to a point where we avoided kind of that longer-term injury with Josh, and I know he’s really excited about that,” O’Connell said.

Fullback C.J. Ham (hand) and cornerback Jeff Okudah (concussion) were the only other two players besides Oliver marked as non-participants in Wednesday’s practice.