The idea of J.J. McCarthy landing with the Giants has been floated, but the noise around it doesn’t match the reality. With Jaxson Dart out for the rest of the regular season in Week 3, New York is suddenly forced to think about its quarterback plan for 2026-27, and one of the names that keeps coming up is the Minnesota Vikings quarterback.
Still, the read from people around the league is clear: McCarthy does not look like a natural target for New York.
Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post posted on X on Wednesday, "Never say never. But J.J. McCarthy is one available QB I cannot see #Giants pursuing."
Dan Duggan of The Athletic echoed that view in a feature published Thursday, noting that the Giants spent plenty of time on McCarthy before the 2024 draft, only to take wide receiver Malik Nabers with the sixth pick. As Duggan put it, "That type of pedigree sticks with a player, even when the start of his career has been as rocky as McCarthy's."
Duggan also pointed to McCarthy’s recent slide in Minnesota, where he lost a quarterback competition to Kyler Murray and ended up third on the Vikings’ depth chart behind Carson Wentz. In Duggan’s view, even a modest trade cost would be too much for a player who would still have to pick up a new offense in the middle of the season: "even parting with one of the 2027 sixth-rounders or a late-round pick in a future draft for McCarthy seems wasteful. He'd need to come in and learn a new offense on the fly during the season."
For now, the McCarthy-to-Giants chatter feels more like speculation than something with real momentum. As the situation develops, the signs keep pointing away from New York making that move.
In Other News...
Vikings Take A Late Defensive Hit Before Huge Bucs Matchup
The Vikings head into their Week 3 trip to Tampa Bay with the offensive side in decent shape, as quarterback Kyler Murray and running back Aaron Jones are both available for the matchup with the Buccaneers. Minnesota also made a change at punter, with Brett Thorson still sidelined by a hamstring injury and Johnny Hekker set to handle the job for at least one week.
On the other side of the injury report, though, the defense took a late hit. Linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. was downgraded to questionable because of a non-injury related personal matter, and he did not travel with the team, leaving the Vikings to sort through another important absence before a big early-season test. [Read more 🡒]
J.J. McCarthy Just Put The Vikings In A Real Trade Debate
The injury to Jaxson Dart has put the quarterback market in motion again, and it has also created an interesting conversation around J.J. McCarthy in Minnesota. With the Giants suddenly needing answers, speculation has turned to whether they could call about the Vikings young quarterback, a development that only adds more attention to a situation Minnesota has been managing carefully.
Any trade talk would have to run through Kevin OConnells view of McCarthys future, and that is where the real debate starts. OConnell has shown interest in developing him, which makes an in-season deal feel complicated even before you get to the value question, but recent quarterback trades suggest McCarthy would not command a massive haul, perhaps landing somewhere in the range of a fourth- or sixth-round pick. [Read more 🡒]
Vikings Give Dillon Bell A Chance Their Passing Game Desperately Needs
The Vikings brought Dillon Bell up to the 53-man roster last week, giving him a shot after Jauan Jennings absence created another opening on the depth chart. Bells limited role so far has been confined to special teams, but the move still hinted at a team looking for any way to spark a passing game that has been sputtering.
Bell flashed in the preseason, and Minnesota has not been shy about searching for answers as the offense tries to find more consistency through the air. He has yet to turn that into a real regular-season impact, but the door appears open for more opportunities if the Vikings decide they need another receiver to help lighten the load. [Read more 🡒]