O’Connell: McCarthy has a future with Vikings

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.

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.

KOC didn’t mince words, saying, “This gives us the best chance to win this Sunday.” O’Connell did note that the backup quarterback decisions will be made on a week-to-week basis. Still, this serves as another indictment of J.J. McCarthy, who will presumably be inactive for Week 1. The former first-round pick is unlikely to play at all this year and will likely be looking for a new team after the season ends.

Teasley did not say whether McCarthy will be the backup or third-string quarterback. McCarthy is practicing in full after missing time with an ankle injury late in camp. His spotty play during training camp and the preseason, plus the missed time due to injury, all but guarantee Carson Wentz will be the team’s backup to open the year. As the QB3, McCarthy will likely be a healthy scratch, only able to enter the game if both quarterbacks ahead of him go down with injuries. The fact that he is expected to be on the Week 1 roster only means Teasley was unable to find someone willing to trade even a late-round pick for McCarthy.

The Athletic’s Alec Lewis made a Saturday stir when he left McCarthy off his Vikings 53-man roster prediction, but that would have been hasty even if the Vikes are convinced “Nine” has no future with the organization. This keeps open the possibility of some sort of pick swap trade, or perhaps even “development” behind Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz. We doubt coach Kevin O’Connell is holding his breath on that one. A manifest bust through his first two years in the league, McCarthy could also end up waived later this week after the Vikes make a few waiver claims. Even if his time in Minnesota has yet to come to an end, the clock is still ticking.

McCarthy left preseason Week 2 with an ankle injury and returned to practice before ultimately missing preseason Week 3 altogether. According to Lewis, that only added to the murkiness about McCarthy’s 2026 status. All signs point to Carson Wentz as the QB2 after he started Friday’s game against the Broncos. Lewis adds that “McCarthy’s comfort (or lack thereof) with being QB3 could dictate his future in Minnesota” and projects that the Vikings won’t carry him on the 53-man roster to begin the regular season. The 10th overall pick in the draft only two years ago, McCarthy’s path to being a reclamation project for another organization could arrive sooner than anyone thought. Stay tuned.

Wentz started this game and was on the field for two drives, both of which resulted in punts. J.J. McCarthy missed this game with an ankle issue and was already fighting for the backup job. The missed practice time and recurring injury issues likely have him behind Wentz on the depth chart when Week 1 comes around. The hope for Vikings fans is that Murray is a capable distributor of the football and neither Wentz nor McCarthy sees the field this year.

The Vikings hoped that McCarthy’s ankle injury would heal, but ultimately the 23-year-old quarterback isn’t ready to play. The injury is considered minor and McCarthy is day-to-day, according to Lewis. While minor, McCarthy’s injury has cost him valuable reps as he now finds himself battling Carson Wentz for the QB2 job.