J.J. McCarthy Trade Fallout: Dart, Winston, Harbaugh, Giants, Vikings

First things first, ESPN’s Jordan Raanan was the first to report the obvious: the acquisition of the No. 10 pick from 2024 will have zero effect on the starting status or future development of the No. 25 pick from 2025. Ole Miss product Jaxson Dart took over the QB1 role in New York in Week 4 of his rookie season, and he’s only ever relinquished it when forced by medical professionals. The arrival of no. 9 in purple and gold — now doubling to no. 18 in red, white, and dark blue — isn’t going to change that.

Because of the torn meniscus that caused McCarthy to miss his entire rookie season, the two passers shared a first season of NFL play, despite being drafted a year apart. While McCarthy’s squad found their way to more wins with the Michigan alum behind center (6-4 in 10 starts), he only averaged 163.2 passing yards per game while tossing 11 touchdowns to 12 interceptions and adding 181 yards and four scores on the ground.

Dart’s crew in New York only won four games with the rookie starting, and his passing attack was also limited (162.3 passing yards per game), but he threw a much more efficient 15 touchdowns to only five interceptions and proved to be a lot more dynamic as a rusher, totaling 487 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground. Dart’s main drawback is an aggressive play-style that can put him in some compromising situations, but his new potential competitor’s injury history isn’t squeaky clean itself, considering Dart has played in more games despite McCarthy being in the league for twice as long.

There have also been reports showing that incumbent QB2 Jameis Winston will retain his primary backup duties. While that could certainly mean that the former QB3 of the Vikings will remain at that level in New York, there’s really no motivation for the Giants to stash and develop McCarthy. Their plans moving forward involve Dart getting healthy and managing their offense for years to come, so if the long-term future in New York doesn’t necessarily include McCarthy at the moment, that indicates that they could intend to see just what they hold in the young, jettisoned passer.

For now, the answer is still going to be Winston under center on Sundays, but McCarthy is only now getting into the building. They’ll allow some buffer time for McCarthy to learn the new offense and all that comes with it as he builds some rapport with his new teammates. Only then, if down the line, Winston fails to satisfy, will McCarthy stand as another option for a Giants team that is still fighting for a successful season, despite sporting an injured reserve that holds names like Dart, Brian Burns, Paulson Adebo, and Calvin Austin III.

Even before McCarthy is caught up on the offense, though, the Giants are leaving no doubt who the next arm in line is. Yesterday, the team waived Jake Haener, who will likely return to the practice squad from which he had come just two days before, and according to Ryan Dunleavy of NY Post Sports, New York doesn’t seem to be inviting any other new arms to join the roster, especially with a veteran already in tow. Many thought former Ravens franchise quarterback Joe Flacco might be a candidate to reunite with his former longtime head coach in New York over the offseason, but Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk relayed that, though there were many teams interested in Flacco in this last round of free agency, the Giants weren’t among them.

Speaking of that head coach, Giants’ skipper John Harbaugh was consulted on the idea of adding McCarthy after Dart’s injury, and according to Dunleavy, the front office brought the idea to Harbaugh, not the other way around. It was no secret that the Giants had done their homework on McCarthy before the 2024 NFL Draft, but they came away that night with star wide receiver Malik Nabers. As they approached Harbaugh with the idea, he reportedly made sure to shift focus away from what they had thought of McCarthy back then and towards how they view him today, two years and some change later.

Harbaugh did consult with an outside source before coming to his own final conclusions, though. Per NFL on FOX’s Jay Glazer, he reached out to his younger brother, Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh. Before returning for his second NFL head coaching job, the younger Harbaugh won a College Football Playoff Championship with McCarthy as his quarterback as the head coach at Michigan. The elder Harbaugh was able to glean some inside knowledge from his brother before the deal was struck.

According to Tom Pelissero of The Ringer, the discussions about acquiring McCarthy began last Wednesday, as soon as additional medical opinions concluded that Dart would undergo surgery that would sideline him for the rest of the regular season, at least. Giants general manager Joe Schoen and Co. began working diligently to exhaust all options, turning over every stone, but McCarthy loomed as the top target from the beginning. After all opinions had been gathered and heard and decisions made, they made the deal.

As McCarthy departed Minnesota, it seemed clear there was no bad blood on either side as the Vikings wished him well. According to Kevin Seifert of ESPN, McCarthy never made a trade request despite being demoted to QB3 behind Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz. A new general manger had inherited McCarthy and may not have been as committed to McCarthy’s development as his predecessor had been. With Murray and Wentz as options, working through McCarthy’s youth and injuries made developing him that much more of a challenge. The ceiling that the previous front office had seen as higher than that of Denver starter Bo Nix just kept seeming to drift out of reach, so Minnesota moved McCarthy to a team better situated to patiently work with him.

The season is still young and this trade even younger. McCarthy and Dart are young, as well. Perhaps Dart’s injuries prove too risky to let a player like McCarthy walk, or perhaps McCarthy plays himself into a trade that profits the Giants as they flip him to the highest bidder. We’ll have to watch and see as McCarthy acquaints himself with New York in the weeks to come.