Murray ‘remains the heavy favorite’ to be QB1

Who is asking for this? McCarthy was on the field for three plays in Week 5. They gained three yards, two of which came from McCarthy on a pair of rush attempts. After flaming out as a traditional quarterback in Minnesota, McCarthy is working his way toward becoming the next Taysom Hill. Jameis Winston remains the starter, but Harbaugh will use McCarthy as a change-of-pace option a few times each week. He could also take over as the starter if Winston struggles for an extended period of time, though we appear to be at least a few weeks away from that being a consideration.

Murray was extremely active on the ground, addnig 51 yards on 10 rush attempts. His deep ball, on the other hand, remains a work in progress. His lone touchdown of the day came on a dime to Justin Jefferson on the back of the end zone. He was hesitant to even pull the trigger on deep shots at other times, even when his receiver was wide open. Murray is largely a game-manager right now, but that’s enough to win football games when the Minnesota defense is simply shutting down every opponent they face. Murray will be a mid-range QB2 when he returns to take on the Colts after a Week 6 bye.

The Dolphins’ pass rush made life tougher than expected for the Vikings’ signal caller. Murray managed to turn a few extended plays into successful scrambles, but he also took four sacks, at times simply holding the ball too long. As the game progressed, Murray locked in on T.J. Hockenson when the pass rush was closing in, linking up with him 13 times for 119 yards. The duo should have shared a late touchdown, but Hockenson smartly downed himself at the Dolphins’ five-yard line, so Murray could kneel out the clock from there. Murray will be a high-end QB2 against the Saints next week.

This is the second-straight week that Singletary has been made a healthy scratch for the Giants. Najee Harris and Tyrone Tracy will serve as the backups to Cam Skattebo. It’s also worth noting that QB J.J. McCarthy, who was acquired from the Vikings earlier this week, is active for Week 4.

Everyone but Harbaugh knew Dart wasn’t returning for the playoffs the moment his meniscus repair procedure was announced. Harbaugh, meanwhile, held out hope that his starting quarterback could return in time for a deep playoff run. Even he isn’t keeping that facade up anymore, though he noted that Dart’s surgery “went well.” Coming off an ugly win, Jameis Winston will make his second start of the year in Week 4. J.J. McCarthy will get a crack at the job when the Giants inevitably start losing.

New York acquired McCarthy from the Vikings on Monday in exchange for a 2027 fifth round draft pick. Hughes spoke with NFL sources who said “the Giants do not give up a fifth-round pick unless they plan to play McCarthy in the near future.” Head coach John Harbaugh and the team’s coaching staff, per Hughes, see McCarthy as a starting-caliber quarterback despite his immense struggles in Minnesota last season. “The Giants welcomed the chance to add a player they view as a competitor, gritty, mobile, and who has all the tools to be a plus passer in the NFL,” Hughes said. With Jameis Winston playing worse than any QB in recent memory, McCarthy could be just a couple weeks away from taking over as New York’s starter. He would be a mild upgrade for Malik Nabers and the rest of the Giants pass catchers.

The Ringer’s Tom Pelissero was the first to report the trade. McCarthy landing with John Harbaugh’s Giants feels a bit too on-the-nose given his connection with Jim Harbaugh during his days at Michigan. McCarthy was at one point competing for the Vikings’ QB1 job in camp with Kyler Murray, but was knocked all the way down to QB3 on the Vikings’ depth chart when Carson Wentz took over for Murray in Week 1 and drew the start in Week 2. Assuming Jameis Winston doesn’t suddenly exceed expectations and lead an efficient passing attack, McCarthy will probably get a shot to start at some point when he gets up to speed with the offense. McCarthy has thrown for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions in 10 career games while completing 57.6 percent of his passes. We’ll see if a change of scenery is all he needs to turn the corner and live up to the hype that made him the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

In his first action since sustaining a concussion in Week 1, Murray wasn’t asked to do much in this one. He was about four percent below his expected pass rate on the day with an average depth of target of 9.4 yards. Murray targeted Jordan Addison heavily after Justin Jefferson left the game with an ankle injury, connecting with Addison on a 41-yard score and narrowly missing the speedy downfield wideout for another touchdown. Murray took three sacks and avoided a handful of other sacks against a Tampa front seven missing key players. Murray likely won’t be a 12-team starting play in Week 4 against the Dolphins even if Jefferson suits up.

If you have ever thrown a football, get an agent and have them contact the New York Giants. McCarthy and Fields join a list that, per previous reports, already included Gardner Minshew, Mac Jones, and Jimmy Garoppolo. Schefter also named Brandon Allen, who was on the Giants’ roster during training camp, as an option. Jameis Winston will get the start in Week 3, but the journeyman passer looked downright awful in relief of Jaxson Dart last week. The team will be forced to make a move at quarterback if he struggles versus the Titans today. McCarthy would be a true Hail Mary for the G-Men, but he does have a strong tie to the Harbaugh brothers via his time at Michigan.

The 2-0 Vikings will hopefully get their first full look at Murray, who exited in Week 1 after just 11 snaps. Murray will face a Buccaneers defense that ranks 24th in points allowed through the first two weeks and has allowed the 11th-most passing yards and the 10th-highest net yards per pass attempt. Murray has a nice supporting cast to work with and brings plenty of rushing upside, but fantasy managers shouldn’t view him as anything more than a mid-QB2 until we see how he functions in his first full game or two with the team.