Chargers’ Jim Harbaugh Played a Role in JJ McCarthy Trade, After All

There was a point in time in Jim Harbaugh’s tenure with the Los Angeles Chargers that summer speculation wondered if he might find a way to reunite with JJ McCarthy.

Silly, but typical offseason fodder when there was nothing else to talk about. Part of the appeal in joining the Chargers at all was the potential of linking up with a top-10 passer like Justin Herbert.

Still, Harbaugh’s obvious Michigan link to McCarthy was and is undeniable, so the names usually come up together. That’s been the case as recently as this past offseason when McCarthy seemed to be on his way out in Minnesota and the backup situation for Harbaugh’s Chargers looked miserable.

Fast forward to now, as it turns out, Harbaugh wound up playing a small role in the McCarthy trade, anyway.

Jim Harbaugh impacted JJ McCarthy trade

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy — J.J. McCarthy | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

This all makes plenty of sense, right?

The New York Giants, desperate for help at quarterback after losing Jaxson Dart to a knee injury, went and traded for McCarthy of the Minnesota Vikings.

Naturally, Giants head coach John Harbaugh called up his brother, Jim, before the deal went down.

"John [Harbaugh] called me and asked me. I said, 'John, I love you. I love JJ," Jim Harbaugh said, according to ESPN’s Kris Rhim.

Pretty standard Jim Harbaugh stuff here. More was probably said, but it was surely the typical Jim-isms at this point. Odds are, though, he wasn’t saying he thinks McCarthy can be the greatest of all time. Those exaggerations are probably exclusive to Herbert.

Anyway, all things considered, including Jim’s opinion, it seems, encouraged the Giants to send a fifth-round pick to the Vikings for McCarthy.

We’ll see how that plays out for the 2-1 Giants, who would otherwise be starting Jameis Winston. McCarthy, the 10th overall pick in 2024, has completed 57.6 of his attempts as a pro so far, throwing for 1,632 yards with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, rushing for four scores with three fumbles, too.

The Chargers, for what it’s worth, didn’t shake up the backup situation behind Herbert at all despite the arrival of Mike McDaniel as offensive coordinator. As expected, they kept both Trey Lance and DJ Uiagalelei despite some preseason struggles that, apparently, turned out to be a sign of things to come for Herbert and the entire offense.

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