Giants Reinforce QB Room by Trading for Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy

The Giants send a fifth-round pick to Minnesota for J.J. McCarthy, adding a mobile option behind Jameis Winston after Jaxson Dart's season-ending knee injury.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy has been traded to the New York Giants for a fifth-round draft pick. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The New York Giants took the first step toward reinforcing their shaky quarterback situation by trading for Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy.

McCarthy, whom the Giants heavily scouted in 2024 before ultimately selecting receiver Malik Nabers in the first round, missed his entire rookie season with a knee injury. 

This past summer, he competed for the Vikings’ quarterback job. Still, he lost to former Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, whom the team acquired as a free agent after Arizona released the seven-year veteran.

Last season, McCarthy played in 10 games and started 10, posting a 6-4 record. He completed 140 of 243 pass attempts for 1,623 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He also ran 37 times for 181 yards and four touchdowns.

The Giants, who despite winning Sunday’s rain-soaked game against the Tennessee Titans, had a sluggish offensive showing with Jameis Winston under center. 

Winston is not the same type of quarterback as Jaxson Dart, the team’s starter, whom Big Blue lost to a season-ending knee injury last Monday in a loss to the Los Angeles Rams; Winston is not as mobile as Dart, nor can he improvise.

The Giants will send a fifth-round draft pick to Minnesota as part of the deal. With McCarthy coming onto the 53-man roster, the team is expected to waive Jake Haener, whom they signed off their practice squad to back up Winston before Sunday’s Week 3 game against the Titans.

According to NFL insider Jay Glazer, Giants head coach John Harbaugh called his brother Jim, who served as McCarthy’s head coach at the University of Michigan before moving on to take the Chargers head coaching job, for some intel on McCarthy.

McCarthy will count for just under $1 million against the Giants salary cap this year. Next year, he will cost the Giants $3.77 milion as he has a $2.585 million roster bonus in his contract.

With McCarthy on his way to East Rutherford, the expectation is that Winston, whom the Giants signed to a two-year, $13 million extension prior to the start of the season, will remain the starting quarterback for at least the coming week when the team hosts the Arizona Cardinals while McCarthy, who first must pass a physical before the trade becomes official, gets up to speed on the playbook. 

But it certainly appears that Winston’s days as the starting quarterback for the Giants are limited given the sluggishness of the offense under Winston in the team's 12-7 win against the Tennessee Titans.

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