The Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh might not have the immediate answer to their 0-3 problems, but he sure had a glowing recommendation for his former quarterback when he got a call about it. The call was family. He had to pick up.
Before shipping a 2027 fifth-round pick to Minnesota for J.J. McCarthy, John Harbaugh picked up the phone and dialed his brother. After all, if anyone on earth knows McCarthy’s strengths, flaws, and ceiling inside and out, it’s the coach who molded him into a national champion at Michigan.
Jim Harbaugh Admits Getting a Call From John for J.J. McCarthy Trade
“John called me and asked me,” Harbaugh told reporters on Wednesday. “I said, you know, John, I love you, I love J.J. I think you guys would be . . .’ so, really, I’m telling you the same thing that I told my brother.”
With Giants QB Jaxson Dart out for the year, the Giants needed more depth at quarterback. J.J. McCarthy is still in his rookie deal, making his cost incredibly affordable for the Giants mid-season. While they still intend to keep Jameis Winston as their starting quarterback for now, the team had to take a shot on him in a trade.
When they drafted him as the 10th overall pick in 2024, Minnesota paid him a massive $12.71 million signing bonus up front. Because of that, the Vikings had to swallow the remaining signing-bonus proration (roughly $6.35 million split across 2026 and 2027) as dead cap just to make the trade happen.
The Giants, on the other hand, got a steal. They inherited the prorated remainder of his base salary for the season, which counts for just under $1 million against their cap space for the rest of the year.
For next year, McCarthy is due a $1.19 million base salary plus a $2.58 million roster bonus, totaling $3.77 million, which is fully guaranteed.
New York got a former top-10 pick for pennies, while Minnesota had to pay up just to clean the house. But they did it to themselves after bringing in QB competition in Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz, tanking McCarthy’s market value to a Day 3 pick.
Giants HC John Harbaugh on Getting McCarthy
As for John Harbaugh’s squad, McCarthy comes in as a player he looks forward to.
“Well, we’ve been talking about it ever since I think Jaxson got hurt, that we would need to add a quarterback, quarterbacks. That’s part of the process. We’ve been turning over every stone. This was an opportunity that kind of came up, and able to finish the deal off this morning, late morning,” Harbaugh said (via Giants.com).
The Giants head coach was genuinely thrilled to see what McCarthy brings in for the Giants, because without Dart, they’ve already dropped one to the Rams out of the three games this season.
“Really glad, really happy, very excited to add J.J. McCarthy. I think he’s a strong, young quarterback, has some experience in the National Football League. Obviously, he was a very high draft pick, very talented player, and is going to make us a stronger football team. So, excited about it, think it makes us better, and get him in here as soon as we can. Get to work on learning the offense. Obviously, that’s going to be a challenge, but we’ll go to work on that, and that’s where we’re at.”
Chargers Jim Harbaugh Makes Unsurprising Admission on Giants J.J. McCarthy Trade