Why J.J. McCarthy Is Active for Giants vs. Cardinals

J.J. McCarthy is active for the Giants' Week 4 game against the Cardinals, and the likeliest reason is a package of plays built around him.

Oct 4, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants quarterback J.J. McCarthy (18) warms up before a game against the Arizona Cardinals at MetLife Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

New York Giants quarterback J.J. McCarthy is active this week for Big Blue's Week 4 game against the Arizona Cardinals.

No, not as the emergency quarterback, but as a fully available rostered player who could enter the game at any time.

That move raises an interesting question: why? McCarthy has only gone through three practices with the Giants, but has hit the ground running in learning the team's playbook, reportedly even before he got to East Rutherford.

So could this move mean McCarthy is the Giants' No. 2 quarterback behind starter Jameis Winston, or have the coaches installed a package of plays for him?

The answer is probably the latter. Jake Haener, who was elevated off the practice squad, would presumably step in if Winston struggles or is injured. Still, the Giants could use a rotation in which, in certain situations, they call McCarthy's number to run specific plays.

Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said this week that it depends when asked if the team was exploring adding a package of plays for McCarthy while he gets up to speed.

"I think every quarterback's a little bit different. … We just got to see every day how much he can handle, and then we continue to throw more and more at him, and then we have to make our own judgment on, now, what is he doing on the field, and where does that take him as a number two or number three?"

Oct 4, 2026; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants quarterbacks Jameis Winston (19) and J.J. McCarthy (18) warm up before a game against the Arizona Cardinals at MetLife Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

McCarthy has a skill set more similar to starter Jaxson Dart, who is on injured reserve for the rest of the year with a knee injury. Dart's skills have led the Giants to build a large chunk of their playbook around RPOs and designed runs.

With Winston, who is more of a pocket passer, that part of the playbook is gone, and the weekly game plan focuses more on what Winston does well.

But in scaling down the playbook, it's not hard to see why the coaches could view the move as putting themselves behind the eight ball, especially since no one is giving up hope on the season despite Dart's injury.

Head coach John Harbaugh said this week that he wasn't sure whether McCarthy or Haener would be QB2. The feeling was that they would wait to see how well [finish sentence].

McCarthy came through the week of practice with a strong grasp of the game plan, the language, and the protection schemes he needs to run the offense.

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