Giants' John Harbaugh answers big Jameis Winston, J.J. McCarthy question after trade with Vikings

The New York Giants pulled off a stunning trade when they agreed on Monday to send the Minnesota Vikings a 2027 fifth-round draft pick for backup quarterback and 2024 first-round draft choice J.J. McCarthy. 

While speaking with reporters on Monday, first-year Giants head coach John Harbaugh repeated that veteran Jameis Winston will start when 2-1 New York hosts the 1-2 Arizona Cardinals on Oct. 4. That said, Harbaugh also declined to make any declarations about his quarterback plans for the remainder of the season.

Giants believe Jameis Winston will "play a great football game" following trade for J.J. McCarthy

"Our design is to win the next game," Harbaugh said, per Darryl Slater of NJ Advance Media. "Jameis will be the starter for as long as I can see into the future. But I don’t know. Nobody knows. I have complete confidence that Jameis is going to play a great football game on Sunday. That’s really as far in advance as I’m even willing to think about."

Winston has produced rather lackluster numbers since starter Jaxson Dart went down in Week 2 with a knee injury that will keep him out of action through at least the rest of the regular season. Over the last two games, Winston completed 25 of 49 total passes (51 percent) for 229 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. According to ESPN stats, he ended Week 3 ranked last in the league among qualified players with a 22.9 adjusted QBR for the campaign. 

John Harbaugh thinks J.J. McCarthy "is a very talented young quarterback"

As for McCarthy, the 10th overall pick of the 2024 draft had been relegated to third on the Minnesota depth chart beneath starter Kyler Murray and QB2 Carson Wentz. Nevertheless, Harbaugh seems to believe McCarthy still has a high ceiling. 

"He’s a talented guy," Harbaugh said about McCarthy. "There’s just no doubt about it. He was a top 10 pick for a reason. There’s plenty of good tape, even in the NFL, out there. I know he didn’t hold on to that job in Minnesota, and that’s why he’s available. He can throw it. He can run it. He can make plays. There’s a lot of things he could do better from what he did [in Minnesota]. But just from a talent standpoint, I don’t think anybody would deny that J.J. McCarthy is a very talented young quarterback." 

As of Tuesday morning, it was unclear whether McCarthy or Jake Haener would serve as New York's primary backup against Arizona. At that same time, DraftKings Sportsbook had the Giants as 1.5-point home underdogs against the Cardinals.