Giants' QB1 Stays the Same — For Now, Harbaugh Says

The New York Giants' acquisition of quarterback J.J. McCarthy via trade from the Minnesota Vikings wasn’t just for kicks and giggles.

The move was made to ensure the Giants, who stand 2-1 after three games this season, remain competitive as they push toward their first postseason berth since 2022.

“You need another quarterback, and you wanna go get the very best quarterback you could get, which is what we did,” Harbaugh told reporters via video call on Monday.

“That's the thinking. That's very simple.”

To acquire McCarthy, the tenth overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Giants sent the Vikings their fifth-round pick in next year’s draft.

For now, 12-year veteran Jameis Winston, who made his first start this past weekend in place of injured starter Jaxson Dart, will remain the starter next week as the team readies itself to host the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Harbaugh said.

“(McCarthy) will be either the number two quarterback or the number three quarterback Sunday. Jameis will be the starter for as long as I can see into the future, but I don't know — nobody knows,” Harbaugh said.

“What I do know is that we're gonna be playing this game against the Cardinals on Sunday, and Jameis will be our starter for sure, and he's gonna play a winning football game.”

But the “time being” Harbaugh spoke about could just be until McCarthy, who can expect a crash course in the Giants’ offense once he arrives in East Rutherford, is up to speed.

“We'll figure that out as we get him in here, but it will definitely be extra work, and it will definitely be game by game,” Harbaugh said of the plan to get McCarthy up to speed.

“We're gonna have to get a good feel for, like, where he's at in terms of terminology. We know (Minnesota’s) offense a little bit — we know how that system is built, so our coaches have a pretty good idea of how he's gonna be seeing the game, and then what will make the most sense to him in terms of what we're doing.”

Aug 22, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) throws the ball against the Baltimore Ravens during the first half at U.S. Bank Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The biggest challenge for McCarthy, according to Harbaugh, will be learning the protections.

“All that kind of stuff is gonna be a little bit of a work in progress, but there will be a lot of foundational knowledge because he's been playing quarterback for a long time and he's been in a good system.”

Between the Giants having a degree of knowledge about how Minnesota’s offense is set up and McCarthy’s skill set — which, in addition to being a solid pocket passer, also includes a degree of mobility that the Giants really don’t have in Winston — it sounds as though McCarthy, if all goes well, has a chance to rise the Big Blue ladder rapidly.

“He can throw it, he can run it — he can make plays,” Harbaugh said. “There are a lot of things he could do better from what he did, obviously.

“We're gonna see where it goes from here. I mean, that's really what it boils down to. But just from a talent standpoint, I don't think anybody would deny that J.J. McCarthy is a very talented young quarterback.”

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