New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh revealed that newly acquired QB J.J. McCarthy could be the backup quarterback in Week 5.
McCarthy was acquired by the Giants last week from the Minnesota Vikings for a fifth-round draft pick in 2027.
In Week 4, McCarthy dressed as the third-string QB behind starting QB Jameis Winston and backup QB Jake Haener.
J.J. McCarthy May be Backup QB for Week 5
According to the Giants‘ head coach, when speaking to the media on Monday, Harbaugh said that McCarthy may be elevated to backup QB behind Winston for Week 5 against the Washington Commanders.
“I think that’s a possibility. We’ll see how it goes during the week, but that’s definitely on the table,” Harbaugh said.
Could J.J. McCarthy Start a Game for the Giants?
The Giants lost their starting quarterback, Jaxson Dart, during their Week 2 game against the Los Angeles Rams due to a knee injury that will keep him out for the rest of the season.
With Dart out, Winston has been starting for New York the last two weeks, and he has led the team to two wins over the Tennessee Titans and the Arizona Cardinals despite having poor numbers.
The Giants could definitely use an upgrade at the QB position — even though Winston helped the team win games in Weeks 3 and 4 — which is where McCarthy may come into play.
Although things did not work out well for the former 10th-overall draft pick with the Vikings, he is still only 23 years old and has untapped potential in the sport, which he could possibly unleash with the Giants — if he gets the chance to start, that is.
For now, the next step for McCarthy in his Giants’ career would be getting to back up Winston in Week 5 against the Commanders and see where things go from there.
Knowing he could potentially be put into game action if Winston goes down with an injury shows that Harbaugh and the Giants’ coaching staff are liking what they are seeing from him in practice if they are willing to bump him ahead of Haener in the team’s quarterback depth chart.
J.J. McCarthy Giants Week 5 News Revealed by John Harbaugh