Per this article on Heavy, JJ is not eligible for Offensive ROY, but Comeback POY, per Florio -
Vikings fans received dissappointing news that J.J. McCarthy, wearing a patch many rookies wear, is not elligble for any rookie awards.
heavy.com
It was a night of firsts for not only
Minnesota Vikings quarterback
J.J. McCarthy, but also the NFL.
Mounting an 11-point, fourth-quarter comeback in a 27-24 win over the
Chicago Bears, in his first start on Monday night, McCarthy made history in many ways.
He became the first player to score three fourth-quarter touchdowns in their NFL debut. He became the first quarterback since Steve Young in 1985 to lead a comeback of 10 or more points in their first game, and the only quarterback since 1950 to do so on the road. He also joins Fran Tarkenton as the only Vikings rookie to throw two touchdowns and rush for a touchdown in their NFL debut. The last quarterback do that across the league was Cam Newton in 2011.
All are stellar feats that have thrust McCarthy into the center of the daily sports show circuit. How far he can go in his first year will be one of the biggest storylines of the season, which makes him subject to many awards.
On Monday night, McCarthy wore a special patch that read “NFL Premiere 2025” on his jersey, suggesting that he may be eligible for the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award with many other first-time starters donning the same patch in Week 1.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio was the bearer of bad news to McCarthy loyalists, clearing the air of confusion that the patch created.
“Based on his performance, some have asked whether McCarthy is eligible for the offensive rookie of the year award,” Florio wrote. “He is not. We’ve previously confirmed that McCarthy is not eligible for the prize. The ‘premiere’ patch, however, creates confusion.”
The NBA’s rules regarding rookie of the year run counterintuitively to the NFL, which also left some fans considering whether McCarthy would be eligible.
Vikings QB JJ McCarthy Primed to Win NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award
While McCarthy’s chances of winning Offensive Rookie of the Year were squashed by his missing his entire first season with a meniscus injury, it does open the door for another award — Comeback Player of the Year.
Following McCarthy’s fourth-quarter heroics that won him NFC Offensive Player of the Week, ESPN polled NFL executives for end-of-season award predictions — and McCarthy was the consensus Comeback Player of the Year by those polled.
“The Vikings are a playoff contender and believe they can build a Super Bowl-caliber roster with a starting quarterback under the low-cost rookie wage scale. McCarthy also benefits from sitting and watching behind the scenes for a year because of his season-ending knee injury suffered in the 2024 preseason,”
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote. “McCarthy already was the pick before Monday night’s win over Chicago, but his three-touchdown second half (two passing, one rushing) to erase an 11-point deficit punctuated his case.”
Comeback Player of the Year Odds Take Strange Turn After McCarthy’s Performance
Throughout the offseason, McCarthy was hovering around the fifth-best odds to win the Comeback Player of the Year award.
That remains unchanged after Week 1, but his odds took a surprising turn despite his performance on Monday Night Football.
In August, McCarthy had
+775 odds to win the award, fifth behind
Aidan Hutchinson(+285),
Dak Prescott (+288)
Christian McCaffrey (+300) and
Trevor Lawrence (+500),
according to BetMGM.
On Tuesday, BetMGM updated its odds, and McCarthy is even more of a long shot at +1200. No player saw a significant change to their odds besides McCaffrey, who emerged as a favorite with +185 odds this week.
McCarthy’s performance for the first three quarters may have scared off some betters. There is also a hedge toward McCaffrey, considering the
San Francisco 49ers will be leaning on him immensely with
Brock Purdy and
George Kittle expected to miss the next several games.