The Vikings may be headed for a 3-0 start, but JJ McCarthy’s spot on the depth chart is still the kind that gets attention for all the wrong reasons.
Minnesota can move to 3-0 for the first time since 2024 and just the sixth time since 2000 if it beats the 0-2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Kevin O’Connell will have starting quarterback Kyler Murray back in Week 3 after Murray missed Week 2’s win in Chicago, following a concussion on the 11th play of the opener against the Green Bay Packers. Carson Wentz, the 33-year-old NDSU alum, has been holding down QB2 duty in Murray’s absence, while McCarthy sits as QB3 and would only be available in an emergency in Tampa.
That’s not exactly the kind of role anyone imagines for a 2024 first-round pick. McCarthy’s name has mostly faded from the conversation since he started camp competing for the job and then dropped all the way to third on the Vikings’ quarterback chart by Week 1.
But on Tuesday, the silence around McCarthy broke in a hurry.
Veteran NFL reporter Gary Myers suggested the Giants should call Minnesota and try to swing a deal for McCarthy after news surfaced that New York starter Jaxson Dart may be out for the season because of a knee injury suffered in Week 2.
“If Jaxson Dart is done for the year, I think the @Giants should trade for Vikings third-string QB J.J. McCarthy.
GM Joe Schoen considered him w/6th overall pick in 2024 (they took Malik Nabers). McCarthy helped Jim Harbaugh win national championship in 2023 and he loves McCarthy.
John and Jim often sign players with a history with each other. Probably would cost only mid-round pick and Giants could run same RPO offense they were using with Dart that is not suited to Jameis Winston.
If McCarthy plays well for Giants, can build up his value to trade him after season or supplant Winston as Dart’s backup. Low-risk move.
McCarthy has been huge disappointment in Minnesota but he’s only 23 years old, a few months older than Dart.”
Myers’ point centered on something that has been true for a while: the Giants have long had an eye on McCarthy. New York seriously considered him with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2024 draft before taking Malik Nabers instead. And this wasn’t the first time McCarthy had come up as a possible trade fit for the Giants, either.
Back in late August, when McCarthy was sliding down Minnesota’s depth chart, NFL insider Jason La Canfora also mentioned New York as a team that could show interest if the Vikings were willing to move him for a low price.
The comparison between McCarthy and Dart is part of what makes the idea easy to float. McCarthy has played in just 10 games, with 57% completions, 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. A knee injury in his rookie year wiped out that season and clearly slowed his development.
Dart, meanwhile, has already built a much larger NFL sample despite being drafted a year later. The former USC quarterback has appeared in 16 games and started 14 of them. He’s completed 64.9% of his passes, thrown for 2,522 yards, and posted 18 touchdowns against 5 interceptions.
For now, McCarthy remains in Minnesota as QB3. But with the Giants staring at a potentially season-changing injury, his name is back in the trade conversation.
In Other News...
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Minnesotas Run Game Just Raised A Bigger Question For Greg Harbaugh
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For Greg Harbaugh, the bigger question now is whether this was a one-game adjustment or the start of a more deliberate shift in how the Gophers want to run the ball. The execution offered both strengths and weak spots in the blocking, which makes the next step intriguing: if Minnesota is going to keep blending these ideas, the fine points of who handles which assignment could end up telling us a lot about where the offense is headed. [Read more 🡒]