McCarthy, Skattebo practicing in full Tuesday

The official designation seems to track with the prevailing sentiment from the team, with the expectation that he’ll be able to play through the hip discomfort sustained in Week 9. Fantasy managers will want to monitor his level of participation during the remainder of the week, but it appears as if McCarthy will be out there on Thursday Night Football against the Commanders. The pass-funnel nature of the matchup and expected presence of McCarthy is a boost to the fantasy upside of Isaiah Likely and Malik Nabers.

Harbaugh said McCarthy is “doing well” after briefly being knocked out of Sunday’s game against the Eagles with a hip injury. McCarthy was in visible pain on the sideline at times, but was able to finish the game. We’ll see how things shape up over the week as the Giants prepare for a short turnaround ahead of Thursday night’s game against the Commanders. If he’s healthy enough, McCarthy will get the start against a Commanders defense that has struggled mightily at times against the pass this season.

Taking a beating before his third quarter hip injury, McCarthy had a much more “Minnesota day” against the Eagles, with the huge exception he again avoided turnovers. Although McCarthy’s third down decision-making was leaving a little something to be desired, his ability to avoid the big mistake was paramount in a contest where the G-Men simply had to outlast a team starting its No. 3 quarterback. He did that, finding Malik Nabers and Isaiah Likely for a handful of down-field completions along the way. That does not included a dropped 20-yard touchdown from Nabers. This was McCarthy’s “worst” showing in three appearances as a Giant, but it was still promising on the whole. Now McCarthy needs to find out how sore he is going to be on Monday after really taking a walloping. He could end up highly questionable for Thursday’s short-week date with the Commanders. Stay tuned.

McCarthy, who presumably received some sort of pain-killing injection after twice collapsing in the third quarter, returned for the final play of the frame. He screamed at his offensive linemen to pump them up before doing so. Never a dull moment.

Jameis Winston, of course, is now in the game. McCarthy took a thunderclap third quarter hit from Eagles LB Zack Baun and struggled to his feet. He attempted to warm back up on the sideline before literally collapsing while trying to throw. He then headed to the blue tent before making his way to the locker room. We suppose he is genuinely questionable, but on the wrong side of the tag. McCarthy had been taking an absolute beating before going down, absorbing five sacks, many of which were of the spine-rattling variety.

In other words, it wasn’t exactly an endorsement that Jaxson Dart is the franchise quarterback. Dart, out for the year with a meniscus repair, will enter the third year of his rookie contract as the likely favorite to start assuming Nine hasn’t just blossomed into a great quarterback overnight. But it sounds like the Giants are at least open to the idea that McCarthy could alter the calculus here.

Nine threatened a really good box score, crossing 200 yards by the third quarter, but both the Texans (playing more aggressive coverage) and the Giants (using Jameis Winston in short-yardage situations) conspired to keep McCarthy scoreless. Still, it was a nice debut start. McCarthy took three sacks but had zero turnovers while managing a handful of nice throws. The Giants head on bye in Week 8, but McCarthy has played like he could be a reasonable superflex QB2 against the Eagles in a few weeks.

The Giants pivoted to “NINE” after he lit up the Saints for 243 yards in the fourth quarter of Week 6. Having already spent some draft capital to acquire McCarthy, the team is going to give him an extended tryout as the starter. If he does well, the Giants will likely hang on to him as Jaxson Dart’s backup next year. They could also trade him in the offseason if he plays well to garner interest from other teams.

According to Hughes, “this is the player they targeted and wanted” as their quarterback the minute Jaxson Dart (knee) got hurt. Hughes acknowledges that coach John Harbaugh could eventually bench McCarthy later in the year, but it will take more than a bad “game or two” for that to happen. In the meantime, the weekly fantasy football outlooks for Malik Nabers and Isaiah Likely are more volatile than they were with Jameis Winston at the helm. Selling high could make sense. Hughes adds that McCarthy would have to play like a top-10 quarterback to make the coaching staff consider him for the starting role next season. That outcome seems highly unlikely.

John Harbaugh is making the switch after a historic fourth quarter from “NINE”. McCarthy threw for 243 yards and a score in 11 minutes of action as the Giants mounted a frantic comeback against the Saints. Though he came up short in the end, McCarthy gave the Giants’ offense life after three dreadful quarters from James Winston. Now he’ll get the first snap versus a Houston defense that has been surprisingly ineffective this year. McCarthy is a high-risk QB2 for his first start as a Giant. He should at least be added in all Superflex formats.