It's safe to say there's a lot riding on J.J. McCarthy in Minnesota. The Vikings won 14 games and flirted with the NFC's No. 1 playoff seed a year ago. Instead of paying big bucks to retain the quarterback who led that charge,

McCarthy completed 4 of 7 passes against the Texans for 30 yards and no touchdowns in his first game after 364 days. The 22-year-old is fit and was a full participant in practice sessions ahead of Saturday's preseason matchup against the Patriots.

Vikings have big problem with lack of QB depth behind J.J. McCarthy. Sam Howell is expected to be the team's primary backup but he could not get Minnesota's offense out of the mud