The New York Giants made a trade on Monday afternoon, acquiring former 2024 first-round pick quarterback J.J. McCarthy from the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for a 2027 fifth-round pick.
McCarthy, who has been the third-string quarterback this season in Minnesota, has had a career riddled with injuries, suffering four major injuries in his three-year NFL career, with one making him unavailable for the entirety of his rookie season.
The 2024 College Football Playoff National Champion has a 57.6% completion percentage, along with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in his short NFL career. While the stats aren’t the prettiest, the Giants believe this is a low-risk, high-reward move if McCarthy can turn his career around as Big Blue’s backup.
When asked if he expects Jameis Winston to remain the starter moving forward, John Harbaugh said, “Yes. Yes, I do,” after the Giants’ 12-7 victory over the Tennessee Titans this past Sunday. Though the Giants’ offense didn’t look great in the game, Harbaugh believed Winston did what he needed to do to win the game in the rainy weather conditions.
J.J. McCarthy will likely be the backup QB against the Cardinals on Sunday, as Jake Haener was waived and sent back to the practice squad. It is unclear if McCarthy will be bringing his alter ego, “Nine,” to East Rutherford, as Isaiah Likely currently owns the number.
In other news, Harbaugh confirmed that Giants star linebacker Brian Burns has a torn ACL and will be out for the season. Another big blow for Big Blue after Jaxson Dart was ruled out for the remainder of the regular season last week after tearing his meniscus and suffering damage to his MCL and PCL.
The Giants are 2-1 and currently tied with the Philadelphia Eagles for first place in the NFC East. The performances of the NFC East teams have shown that the division is wide open for the taking, and we will see if the G-Men can manage the division without their starting quarterback this season.
