Vikings rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy undergoes season-ending knee surgery

J.J. McCarthy's rookie year with the Minnesota Vikings is already over.

The former Michigan star quarterback and first-round NFL draft pick will miss the season after undergoing surgery to repair torn meniscus in his right knee, which he injured in his preseason debut last week.

McCarthy had the operation on Wednesday after suffering the injury at some point against Las Vegas. McCarthy had been having a solid training camp and was pushing starter Sam Darnold, who signed a one-year, $10 million US contract with Minnesota in March.

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell delivered the news about McCarthy shortly after the team arrived for two days of joint practices with the Browns.

McCarthy's loss was especially tough for a franchise looking for a fresh start after letting Kirk Cousins go as a free agent.

Coach O'Connell gives update on J.J. <a href="https://t.co/88OcZ6g1DV">pic.twitter.com/88OcZ6g1DV</a>

While some may have doubted Minnesota's decision to take McCarthy with the 10th overall pick, the 21-year-old, who led the Wolverines to a national title last season, checked all the boxes over the past few months.

"I really believe that J.J. has kind of confirmed to me and a lot of our coaches and players that we got the right guy in the building for the future," O'Connell said. "And he did it in a short amount of time. That's what makes this news hard.

"Because you know just how exciting it would have been as a daily, minute-to-minute process moving forward. But I think that optimism should be felt by anybody in our building and hopefully our fans."

McCarthy went 11 of 17 for 188 yards with two touchdowns and one interception in the 24-23 win over the Raiders — a performance that may have led to him getting more reps with the