J.J. McCarthy shares first public reaction to trade from Vikings to Giants

Fans of both the New York Giants and the Minnesota Vikings were stunned to learn earlier in the week that the Giants had sent a 2027 fifth-round draft pick to the Vikings for McCarthy's services. 

On Friday, McCarthy offered his first public comments on that trade. 

J.J. McCarthy: Trade from Vikings to Giants was "a shock"

"When I got the call here, it was a shock," McCarthy acknowledged, per Jordan Raanan of ESPN. "I didn't anticipate it, but at the end of the day, it's an opportunity. It's an opportunity to take advantage of. And I love these guys already, and I can't wait to do it for them."

A 2024 first-round draft pick, McCarthy clearly no longer had an opportunity to become the Vikings' long-term answer at the position after Minnesota head coach Kevin O’Connell relegated the once-promising prospect to third on the team's depth chart beneath starter Kyler Murray and journeyman Carson Wentz. McCarthy made just 10 total regular-season starts for the Vikings, and he is now expected to spend at least a couple of weeks learning the New York offense while Jameis Winston serves as the Giants' QB1. 

Winston will start for the 2-1 Giants when they host the 1-2 Arizona Cardinals this coming Sunday. 

Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh was McCarthy's coach when the two were at the University of Michigan, and Harbaugh spoke with Giants head coach and brother John Harbaugh about the signal-caller possibly receiving a fresh start with the NFC East club. 

"Absolutely love the Harbaugh family," McCarthy said. "They're made of the right stuff. Faith, family, football. Just everything [John Harbaugh] did in Baltimore, it was super inspiring just to see him take a team and have that success for such a long period of time. And being in this building, you feel it. You feel it. He's made of the right stuff. He says the right things. He guides his players in the right direction. And yeah, I'm really excited to play for him."

J.J. McCarthy putting Vikings tenure behind him

A report from this week claimed that "McCarthy’s inability to stay healthy or play with consistency" led to the Vikings acquiring Murray in March and ultimately awarding him the Minnesota QB1 gig. That same story mentioned that McCarthy’s "bouts of youth and defiance, evident both in front of the cameras and away from them inside the TCO Performance Center, were troubling for Vikings executives and coaches."

On Friday, he seemed uninterested in discussing what went wrong for him in Minnesota. 

"There's a multitude of things you could think of [why it didn't work out], but at the end of the day, it's all in the past," McCarthy explained. "And all I care about is what's important now -- that next rep, that next meeting, that next game. And that's really all I'm focused on."

The Giants are expected to turn back to first-choice starter Jaxson Dart in 2027 once he recovers from the season-ending knee injury he suffered on Sept. 21. McCarthy spent his entire rookie season recovering from a full meniscus repair and, thus, knows something about what Dart is going through this fall. 

"I'm really just focused on right now," McCarthy added during his comments. "I'm focused on doing whatever I can to help this team win, do whatever I can to help Jameis, help Jaxson through this injury. I had it my rookie year, and it absolutely sucks. ...You never want to see a season-ending injury regardless of what team you're on, and I'm just doing my best to make an impact on this team in any way possible."