J.J. McCarthy’s name has started circulating in NFL chatter, and the New York Giants’ latest quarterback injury is a big reason why.
With Jaxson Dart out for the year after a season-ending injury this past Monday, some around the league think the Giants should make a run at McCarthy and try to pry him away from the Minnesota Vikings. The idea has already made the rounds publicly, with Gary Myers writing on September 22, 2026: "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. …"
McCarthy hasn’t done much in Minnesota this season besides sit on the bench, and the question now is whether the Vikings would even have a reason to hang onto him if New York came calling. The answer depends on what kind of return they could reasonably expect.
Recent quarterback trades offer the clearest guide. In the last six deals involving quarterbacks traded by the team that drafted them before their second contracts, five brought back only a Day 3 pick, meaning rounds 4 through 7. Kenny Pickett was the lone exception, and even then Pittsburgh had to include a fourth-round pick in the package to Philadelphia.
That history points to a pretty narrow market for McCarthy. A deal should probably land Minnesota a fourth-round pick at the top end, and a sixth-rounder at the low end. Anything involving a Day 1 or Day 2 selection would be a major overpay and, based on the recent trade history, not a realistic expectation.
For the Giants, the math is workable. Looking ahead to the 2027 NFL Draft, they currently have no fourth-round picks, but they do own two fifth-rounders and two sixth-rounders. That gives them enough Day 3 capital to put together an offer that fits the market, and one of those fifth-round picks would seem like a reasonable starting point if they wanted to pursue a young quarterback.
Still, the Vikings are not exactly acting like a team ready to move on. Even after McCarthy dropped to QB3 on the depth chart when he lost the QB1 competition to Kyler Murray earlier this year, head coach Kevin O'Connell has said he wants to keep developing the former Michigan quarterback.
Whether that was sincere or a way of telling other teams to raise their price is up for debate. Either way, Minnesota may be reluctant to part with McCarthy in the middle of the season, especially with Murray and Carson Wentz not exactly known for durability over the course of their NFL careers.
If the Giants were to get serious and put a 2027 third-round pick on the table, though, that would be the kind of offer Minnesota should jump on immediately.
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