09/28/26 12:06:00
Printable Page
09/28 12:04 CDT Giants acquire quarterback J.J. McCarthy from the Vikings for a
2027 fifth-round pick
Giants acquire quarterback J.J. McCarthy from the Vikings for a 2027
fifth-round pick
By DAVE CAMPBELL and STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Sports Writers
The New York Giants acquired quarterback J.J. McCarthy from the Minnesota
Vikings for a 2027 fifth-round pick, adding another young player at the most
important position in football less than a week after learning Jaxson Dart
would be out for at least the rest of the regular season.
The Vikings announced the trade Monday pending McCarthy passing a physical.
Dart had surgery last week on his left knee after getting injured early in a
loss at the Los Angeles Rams.
Jameis Winston started and the Giants beat Tennessee on Sunday, despite not
scoring a touchdown and having just 238 yards of offense. Coach John Harbaugh
said afterward that Winston would get the nod again this Sunday against Arizona
but hinted that the Giants were not content to stand pat in Dart's absence.
"The plans are the plans," Harbaugh said. "The opportunities that you have are
the opportunities you have. No matter what, we're going to do everything we can
to make our team as strong as we can based on what options we have."
The first opportunity turned out to be adding McCarthy, the 10th pick in the
2024 draft who lost the starting job in Minnesota to Kyler Murray and fell
behind Carson Wentz on the depth chart. McCarthy started 10 games last season,
completing 57.6% of his passes for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12
interceptions.
McCarthy missed what would have been his rookie season after injuring his right
knee. He was picked a year ahead of Dart, but each was born in 2003, with
McCarthy being just four months older.
Long term, that sets up a fascinating situation for New York, with Dart,
Winston and McCarthy all under contract for next season. For now, McCarthy
provides competition for Winston, and it's not out of the realm of possibility
that another QB is added to the mix.
By making this aggressive move, Harbaugh, general manager Joe Schoen and the
Giants are doubling down on trying to contend this season, even after losing
Dart and with concerns over edge rusher Brian Burns' knee injury that knocked
the organization's best defensive player out of the game against the Titans.
There is familial familiarity with McCarthy, who won the national title at
Michigan in his final college season playing for John's younger brother Jim
Harbaugh.
For the Vikings, the trade served as yet another reminder of the quarterback
carousel the franchise has continually found itself on. Murray and Wentz are
set to be free agents next spring, so the organization will yet again be forced
to make multiple decisions and evaluations about who to build around for next
season and beyond. Murray became the ninth different starting quarterback since
Kirk Cousins took the field at Green Bay on Oct. 29, 2023, and tore his
Achilles tendon.
McCarthy was the fifth quarterback taken among the record six selected in the
first 12 picks in the 2024 draft, when Caleb Williams to Chicago, Jayden
Daniels to Washington and Drake Maye to New England went with the first three
spots. Michael Penix was picked eighth by Atlanta, followed by McCarthy at No.
10 and Bo Nix to Denver at No. 12.
McCarthy lost only three games as the starter through high school and college,
including a 27-1 record at Michigan on the way to the championship, but he came
to the Vikings with minimal experience as a pro-style passer after being in Jim
Harbaugh's run-heavy offense. The energy and toughness that helped McCarthy
become a winner and a leader at the lower levels worked against him at times
last season, with a tendency for recklessness and a pattern of inaccuracy that
contributed to his disappointing debut.
Coach Kevin O'Connell's credentials as a play designer, play caller and QB
mentor gave the Vikings plenty of confidence that McCarthy could thrive with
them, but a torn meniscus in his first preseason game required surgery and
delayed his first professional game until Sept. 8, 2025.
The success Sam Darnold had under O'Connell in 2024 contributed to the decision
to let him leave as a free agent and build around McCarthy and his salary
cap-friendly rookie contract, but the combination of immaturity, inexperience
and injuries was too much for the Vikings to overcome last year. McCarthy
missed time because of a sprained ankle, a concussion and a broken hand.
___
See AP's full NFL coverage here
|
