The New York Giants decided to send a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Minnesota Vikings for J.J. McCarthy, who found himself as QB3 after being a Top 10 pick in 2024. As a result, McCarthy will be looking for a fresh start in New York after it didn’t work out in Minnesota.
While the 23-year-old will need to familiarize himself with the Giants’ offense, if Jameis Winston continues to play poorly, McCarthy could see the field sooner rather than later.
Despite the Week 3 win over the Tennessee Titans, Winston was 14-for-22 on his pass attempts for 118 passing yards and a passer rating of 77.5. With two underwhelming performances, FOX Sports Radio’s Rob Parker believes McCarthy should start right away for the Giants over Winston, as he referred to the veteran as “Sameis.”
“Make J.J. McCarthy your quarterback for the rest of the season,” Parker said in a Sept. 28 video from FOX Sports Radio. “Enough already with Sameis Winston. We know what you get from Sameis Winston. You get field goals, you get errant passes, hell of an interview, funny, all that good stuff. John Harbaugh, you called your brother Jim Harbaugh, who coached him in college. This kid was 27-1 as a starting quarterback at Michigan and won a national championship.
“It didn’t work out in Minnesota, but let me tell you this: you have a golden opportunity to get a look at J.J. McCarthy. You don’t know if Jaxson Dart will ever be healthy to be the quarterback you’re hoping for. You have a season with no-to-low expectations. Play the kid to see if he can play. You already know what you get with Sameis Winston.”
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Meanwhile, Parker’s co-host Kelvin Washington also agrees that it may be better for McCarthy to start over Winston, but he has a major concern about the former Vikings QB.
“It almost feels like, at a certain point, it’s okay to be a backup because backups can still be good,” Washington added. “Backups can win. But the issue with Jameis is he looks like he’s regressed. He’s completely bought into the TV, the videos, the podcasts, the interviews. He’s forgotten that [he] might need you to win four or five, six games a year as a backup.
“Jameis is taking a step back. That’s what’s been bad… It’s not like Jameis is a bit younger. You know what he is. He’s been in the league a long time at this point. The only thing I’m concerned with with J.J. is when he was at Michigan, they didn’t need him to do much, and the times that they did, he didn’t come up big for them.”
Vikings GM Believes J.J. McCarthy Can Succeed With Giants
Even though the situation didn’t work out in Minnesota, Vikings general manager Nolan Teasley noted that McCarthy has the opportunity to find success in New York.
“Even within this situation specifically, sitting down and talking with him this morning, he’s a pro,” Teasley told reporters on Sept. 28. “[McCarthy is] a great young man. He’s a good person.
“He’s a great teammate, and I continue to believe that his story is not written in this league and that he has potential to continue to grow and develop and make a difference in the National Football League, and that’s really why I think you saw another team value him and have interest in bringing him on board.”
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