Giants Trade For J.J McCarthy From Vikings, Will Be Backup To Winston

by Arop KualOctober 4, 2026, 6:21 pm >

The New York Giants traded for quarterback J.J. McCarthy from the Minnesota Vikings for a 2027 fifth-round draft pick.

The Vikings drafted McCarthy with the No. 10 pick. He was the third-string quarterback this season in Minnesota behind starter Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz.

This trade comes after Giants starter Jaxson Dart suffered a season-ending injury in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Rams.

Following Dart’s injury, veteran quarterback Jameis Winston took over the starting job. Following their Week 3 win, Giants coach John Harbaugh said that Winston would remain the starter even if the team added another quarterback. He reiterated that following the trade for McCarthy.

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“Jameis is starting. You guys asked me that Sunday night. He’s our starting quarterback, and that’s how we’re rolling,” Harbaugh said. “We’ll be ready to play this next game and going forward. Excited about Jameis…. I’m looking forward to seeing where we go, and as we go we’ll get a chance to build around Jameis’ strengths.”

Winston will remain the Giants’ starter for the rest of the season as McCarthy gets acclimated and learns the offense.

“Jameis will be the starter for as long as I can see into the future,” Harbaugh said. “But I don’t know. Nobody knows. What I do know is that we’re going to be playing this game against the Cardinals on Sunday, and Jameis will be our starter for sure, and he’s going to play a winning football game.”

McCarthy played college football under Jim Harbaugh at Michigan and now will be coached by his brother in the NFL.

“He always had good things to say about J.J.,” John Harbaugh said. “I mean, I kind of watched it. I was following Michigan when Jim was coaching there. I don’t follow them as much anymore, but when Jim was there, that was a team I watched closely. So I’ve watched J.J. play a lot.”

“His skill set is … he’s a talented guy. I mean, there’s just no doubt about it. He’s talented,” Harbaugh said. “He was a top-10 pick for a reason, and there’s plenty of good tape even in the NFL out there. … He can throw it, he can run it. He can make plays.”

McCarthy lost his starting job with the Vikings in training camp to Murray and was demoted to third string after an ankle injury that kept him out of the Vikings’ final preseason game. He ends his tenure with the Vikings starting in 10 games.