The New York Giants are set to trade for Minnesota Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy as they try to rebuild their signal-caller group following Jaxson Dart’s season-ending injury. The Giants will send a 2027 fifth-round draft pick to the Vikings in exchange for the former first-round quarterback. Giants coach John Harbaugh said Monday that the team immediately began the process of trying to increase its quarterback room after Dart went down. Harbaugh also said that Jameis Winston, who started during Sunday’s 12-7 win over the Titans, will remain the team’s starting quarterback for its next game against the Cardinals. “Really happy, really excited to add JJ McCarthy,” Harbaugh said. “I think he’s a strong young quarterback. He’s got some experience in the National Football League. Obviously, he was a very high draft pick, a very talented player, and he’s going to make us a stronger football team. I’m very excited about that. I think it makes us better and getting him here as soon as we can, working on learning the offense. Obviously, that’s going to be a challenge. But we’ll work on it, and that’s where we are.” McCarthy has the pedigree of a potential mid-career breakout as a former No. 10 overall pick, but his career in Minnesota was a bust. It would be a surprise if he ever lived up to the high expectations that followed him after finishing college. The Giants will give him a chance to try to revitalize his career after falling to No. 3 on the Vikings’ depth chart behind Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz. The Giants now have three former first-round picks on their roster, putting them in rare company. Only six other teams in the common draft era built their offense the same way. 2026 New York Giants Jaxson Dart, Jameis Winston, JJ McCarthy 2025 Indianapolis Colts Daniel Jones, Anthony Richardson, Philip Rivers 2018 Baltimore Ravens Lamar Jackson, Joe Flacco, Robert Griffin III 2011 Oakland Raiders Carson Palmer, Jason Campbell, Kyle Boller 1989 New York Jets Ken O’Brien, Tony Eason, Mark Malone 1984 Chicago Bears Jim McMahon, Steve Fuller, Greg Landry 1980 Oakland Raiders Jim Plunkett, Dan Pastorini, Marc Wilson Injuries derailed McCarthy’s tenure in Minnesota and limited him to just 10 starts over two-plus seasons. He missed his entire rookie campaign with a torn meniscus and was out nearly half of his second season due to a concussion, broken wrist and sprained ankle. In the short time he was healthy, McCarthy completed just 57.6% of his passes for 1,632 yards and 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He also ran for 181 yards and four touchdowns. The Giants reportedly made calls around the league this week in search of an addition to their quarterback group and opted for McCarthy over other backups like Justin Fields, Jimmy Garoppolo, Gardner Minshew II and Mac Jones, all of whom have more experience but less potential for long-term growth than McCarthy. a monumental victory for both McCarthy and the Giants. That outcome would begin with McCarthy eventually edging out Winston for the starting job, finding success in a new offense and leading the Giants to a handful of victories. With standouts like Malik Nabers, Cam Skattebo and Isaiah Likely on his team, the talent around him could help unlock the big season that eluded him in Minnesota. A change of scenery is also, in some cases, all that is needed to generate progress. Not only would McCarthy establish himself as a viable starter heading into the final year of his contract, but the Giants would also have tremendous flexibility. They could turn him around again and get back more than the fifth-round pick they traded to acquire him, or they could retain him as a primary backup in a deal that expires in 2027. More realistically, though, the low-risk bet won’t pay dividends. McCarthy couldn’t find his footing even with a superstar receiver like Justin Jefferson by his side, so in that context there’s no reason to expect him to hit new speed without arguably the best wide receiver in the game. His development could be permanently stunted due to recurring injuries, and he could struggle to remain on rosters beyond the end of his contract. There’s no guarantee he overtakes Winston and retains the starting job in the first place. JJ McCarthy becomes the latest to play for both Harbaugh brothers. John Harbaugh and Jim Harbaugh tend to have each other’s backs when it comes to personnel moves. They have been known to consult with each other on player acquisitions, and considering McCarthy won a college football national championship with Jim Harbaugh at Michigan, it’s hard to imagine John Harbaugh wouldn’t contact his brother about what kind of quarterback he might receive if his team pulled off the trade. McCarthy joins a long list of players who call both brothers their coach. The following are among the other notables who played for both. Perhaps this should provide optimism for McCarthy’s prospects in New York. The last coach to get the most out of him was Harbaugh, so maybe the other one can rekindle some of that fire. Of course, there’s a difference between winning a championship with McCarthy at the college level and winning games with him in the NFL. JJ McCarthy’s value plummets in just two years. It was just two years ago that McCarthy flew off the draft board as the No. 10 pick in a class that produced six first-round quarterbacks. Now he is a substitute who commanded a fifth round on the commercial market. The Vikings cut bait after just 10 starts, accepted their failure to use a No. 1 pick on a flop, and elected to move forward with Murray and Wentz. McCarthy didn’t play enough in 2025 to qualify, but his 35.6 QBR in his only season of action with the Vikings would have ranked 27th in the NFL, ahead of only Geno Smith and Cam Ward. That was all Minnesota needed to see to put him behind him, and it was all the rest of the league needed to see to restore his value.
