The Giants are making a move at quarterback, and the appeal is pretty clear: J.J. McCarthy gives them a cheap swing with real long-term control.
New York was forced to scramble after Week 2, when it became official that Jaxson Dart will miss the rest of the regular season. That left Jameis Winston as the new starter, but it also created an obvious need for the Giants to strengthen the depth chart behind him.
That’s where McCarthy comes in. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the Giants are sending a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Vikings for the former first-round quarterback.
“The Giants are trading for Vikings' former first-round QB JJ McCarthy, per me @AdamSchefter and @MikeGarafolo,” Rapoport reports.
The price tag matters here. A fifth-round pick in 2027 is a modest cost for a quarterback with McCarthy’s profile, especially for a team that needed help behind Winston right away.
McCarthy’s first season with Minnesota didn’t go the way anyone expected. He missed his entire 2024 rookie year because of injury, then struggled last season with the Vikings. Still, the Giants are betting on two things that still travel with him: his contract control and the upside that made him a first-round pick in the first place.
Because he was a 2024 first-round selection, McCarthy remains on his rookie deal through the 2026 and 2027 seasons, with a 2028 fifth-year option also in play. That gives New York a quarterback it can keep around while it tries to develop him.
And the Giants are clearly not ignoring where McCarthy came from. His college work at Michigan was strong enough to get him into the first round, even if things haven’t clicked yet at the pro level. A new setting could give him a better shot to find his footing.
For New York, this is a low-risk addition with a possible future payoff. McCarthy will back up Winston, and the Giants get a young quarterback they can look at for 2026 and beyond.
Even if the move goes nowhere, the cost is light enough that it won’t sting much. That’s the logic here: young, affordable, under control, and worth a shot.
In Other News...
Justin Herbert Took A Brutal National TV Shot In Chargers Loss
Justin Herberts rough night against Buffalo got even louder in the fourth quarter, when a mistake in a big spot turned into national-TV criticism from one of the most recognizable voices in football. In the Chargers Week 3 loss, Herberts interception was picked off by Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson and quickly helped set up the kind of response drive that can swing a game, with Buffalo finishing off a 24-16 win.
Tom Brady, working the FOX booth with Kevin Burkhardt, did not soften the moment as it unfolded. For Herbert and the Chargers, it was the sort of sequence that can linger beyond the box score, especially when the turnover comes late enough to change the entire feel of the game and leaves the team trying to explain another missed chance against a quality opponent. [Read more 🡒]
Bills Win Left The Chargers With A Much Bigger Problem
The Chargers came out of Week 3 with something even more frustrating than a loss to Buffalo: another reminder that winning the turnover battle is not enough when the offense cannot cash it in. The defeat fit a troubling early-season pattern, with the Chargers struggles on that side of the ball drawing scrutiny under coach Mike McDaniel as they try to keep pace in a crowded AFC picture.
Los Angeles is hardly alone in dealing with early anxiety, with the Packers wrestling with line problems around Jordan Love and the Buccaneers buried under a three-game skid while Baker Mayfield deals with an injury issue. But for the Chargers, the concern is more immediate because the Buffalo result suggested the bigger problem is not bad luck or one mistake, it is whether the offense can do enough to make the rest of the roster matter. [Read more 🡒]
Tom Brady Took A Brutal Public Shot At Justin Herbert
During the Chargers' matchup with the Bills, Justin Herbert ran into one of those nationally televised moments that gets replayed long after the snap itself. A pass intended for the offense instead ended up in C.J. Gardner-Johnson's hands, and Tom Brady, working the game as a color commentator, did not soften the critique one bit.
Brady went right at Herbert's awareness and decision-making on the play, even using the phrase "Meatball Sub" to describe the throw's placement. It was the kind of blunt, unsparing analysis that has already become part of Brady's early broadcasting identity, and for Chargers fans, it only added to the sting of watching a mistake turn into a turnover on a big stage. [Read more 🡒]