Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy has returned to practice after his fiancée gave birth to their son, Rome.

Fox Sports' Colin Cowherd had a strong take during the game, posting on X, "They are protecting J.J. McCarthy. Nothing more. He’s a mile away and the Vikings staff knows it," but backtracked after the miraculous turn around. Cowherd, on his show The Herd this week, compared McCarthy's coaching and surroundings in Minnesota to having good parents.

Colin Cowherd has flipped his opinion of J.J. McCarthy faster than McCarthy led the Vikings to a comeback victory over the Bears in his NFL debut on Monday night. But it's not because he suddenly believes McCarthy has all the traits to be a great player.

Drawing parallels between McCarthy and himself, Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Kevin O’Connell talks about his starting quarterback becoming a father for the first time on Thursday – saying he told him that he didn’t need to ask permission to leave practice to be with his wife during labor,

In Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season, football fans got to know J.J. McCarthy all over again. The former college football national champion struggled early in his regular season debut for the Minnesota Vikings,

J.J. McCarthy and his fiancee, Katya Kuropas, have been together since high school at Nazareth in west suburban La Grange Park.

Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy was named the NFC's Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday. McCarthy bounced back from a pick-6 and led the Vikings to a 21-point fourth quarter in a 27-24 win over the Bears on Monday Night Football.