Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy, unable to play, is attacking his reading list

Vikings rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s right knee is immobilized, but his eyes and ears are wide open.

Speaking to reporters Friday for the first time since his Aug. 10 season-ending injury, McCarthy revealed the “pretty serious” nature of his torn meniscus, the moment he first knew something was wrong and an expansive reading list for the 21-year-old quarterback that includes “The Invention of Yesterday” by Tamim Ansary, “A New Earth” by Eckhart Tolle and “Stay Sane in an Insane World” by Greg Harden.

“Those are all books that really kind of help me throughout this process of trying to strengthen this,” said McCarthy, pointing to his head.

Mental growth is McCarthy’s goal during his sidelined rookie season, which ended due to what McCarthy called a radial tear of the medial meniscus that required a full repair and a six-to-eight-month recovery. McCarthy has been tasked with immobilizing his right knee for six weeks.

He has a set of crutches, but a motorized scooter works better to traverse the massive TCO Performance Center headquarters with its long hallways.

Word got around that McCarthy, the 10th overall pick out of Michigan, already caused some property damage in head coach Kevin O’Connell’s office.

“That is true,” McCarthy said. “It got a little bit blown out of proportion here. I was just backing up, put it in reverse and rammed right into the doorframe — a little paint chip, nothing serious.”

Regarding when the injury occurred in McCarthy’s only preseason action, when he completed 11 of 17 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns against the Raiders, he said he’s narrowed the injury down to a “few different plays,” but he is still not sure.

He knew something was wrong when his right knee “started to buckle going down the stairs” of his home on Aug. 11, a scheduled off day for Vikings players after the Raiders game. He reported the issue to the team the following Monday, Aug. 12.

“I haven’t really felt that before,” McCarthy said. “I’ve had contusions and bone bruises and all that. But feeling the instability in my knee, I just wanted to play it safe.”

The abrupt injury is all the more puzzling for McCarthy, who said he hadn’t suffered any kind of issue to his right knee while leading Michigan to a national championship last season.

“You take everything that life throws at you, and you find the positives in it, good or bad,” he said. “I feel like I’ve been able to gain those deeper connections with my teammates and really take a step back and learn the offense in a more relaxed kind of state of mind.”

McCarthy found those connections at a recent get-together hosted by new Vikings edge rusher Andrew Van Ginkel. That’s where veteran offensive tackle David Quessenberry told McCarthy to treat this like a “redshirt” NFL season.

McCarthy was likely going to redshirt for at least part of this season. Coaches have long been preparing Sam Darnold to be Sunday’s starter at the New York Giants. But before his injury, McCarthy was supposed to get more first-team work in practices and start the Aug. 17 exhibition in Cleveland.

By NFL rules regarding injured reserve, McCarthy is allowed to participate in every team activity except for on-field work with coaches or active players. After six weeks of immobility, he’ll gradually return to on-field activities with trainers and other injured teammates.

McCarthy continues to ask and answer questions in quarterback meetings. He’ll also get one-on-one time with O’Connell, the coach said, every week to talk game planning.

“I’m such a fan of the way he goes about his daily [tasks], whatever the daily is,” O’Connell said. “He finds a way to laser his focus on the things that are really important.”

“The big thing for me is, he understands I am available to him throughout this time, as if he was our starter or our No. 2 or No. 3 quarterback, whatever it would’ve ended up being,” O’Connell added. “Because the mindset toward the long-term growth and goals that we have for him, those are all still in play.”

McCarthy is also working on his Latin.

On social media, he has used the phrase, “amor fati,” meaning “love of one’s fate,” when posting about the injury and recovery. He said he’s trying to accept even the bad things that have happened to him. He credited a speaker the Vikings hosted for their rookie meetings during training camp: Becky Schmooke, the founder of Stoic Edge Consulting, who focused on mindfulness and leadership training.

“I’m a huge believer in: Life happens for you, not to you,” McCarthy said. “That’s pretty much what amor fati means. … [Schmooke] talks about stoicism and how it can relate to a lot of things you go through as an athlete.”