Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy and Fiancée Katya Kuropas Welcome Baby Rome—First Photos & Heartfelt Reactions

Social-media personality Katya Kuropas and her NFL-rookie fiancé, Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy, welcomed their first child—a baby boy named Rome Micah McCarthy—early Friday morning, Kuropas confirmed on Instagram. The couple shared a carousel of black-and-white hospital photos: Kuropas cradling Rome, McCarthy kissing both mother and son, and a close-up of the newborn’s tiny hand wrapped around McCarthy’s index finger. “The sweetest, most perfect gift,” Kuropas captioned the post, adding an emoji of the Vikings’ signature horn. McCarthy, 21, temporarily left the Vikings’ Eagan practice facility on Thursday to be with Kuropas in Chicago for the birth, missing the team’s walkthrough ahead of Sunday’s home opener against the Green Bay Packers. Head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters the organization was “fully supportive” of the quarterback prioritizing family, noting that McCarthy received the game plan earlier in the week and is expected back at TCO Performance Center by Saturday. Kuropas, 22, met McCarthy at Nazareth Academy in La Grange Park, Illinois, where the pair began dating as high-school sophomores. Throughout McCarthy’s standout collegiate run at Michigan—culminating in last season’s national championship—Kuropas gained her own following, documenting travel, game-day outfits and behind-the-scenes moments for more than 185 000 Instagram followers. A proposal during Michigan’s bye week last October set the stage for the couple’s next chapter. The arrival of baby Rome caps a whirlwind nine months for McCarthy: winning a national title, being drafted 11th overall by Minnesota in April, earning first-team practice reps in training camp and now embracing fatherhood. Teammates flooded Kuropas’ post with purple-heart emojis, while Vikings fans on X (formerly Twitter) celebrated the “little Sköl warrior” and predicted an eventual quarterback-in-waiting. McCarthy’s availability for Sunday remains likely, but even if a delayed return pushes veteran Sam Darnold into spot duty, Vikings brass emphasized that “family comes first.” The sentiment resonates with Kuropas’ latest story: a quiet hospital-room video of McCarthy rocking Rome to sleep, the quarterback’s playbook resting on the bedside table.