Jim Harbaugh famously said J.J. McCarthy was the greatest quarterback ever to play at the University of Michigan and then boasted he was the best quarterback available before the 2024 draft. John Harbaugh, Jim’s brother, apparently believes him.
The New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings have agreed to a trade that will send McCarthy, a 2024 first-round pick, to play for John Harbaugh’s team in the Big Apple in exchange for a mid-round 2027 draft pick and a chance to salvage their season.
John Harbaugh apparently thinks McCarthy has some of what his brother predicted still in him despite rough times in Minnesota. And as the Giants are 2-1, the coach is doing what he can to win.
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But, let’s be honest.
If McCarthy continues being what he’s been, this ain’t going to salvage the season for the Giants. Sorry to rain on your tickertape parade, Giants fans.
This move is more to avoid humiliation if starter Jameis Winston gets hurt.
The Vikings are trading McCarthy for a fifth-round pick in 2027 only three years after drafting him in the first round because, well, the experiment failed. They do not believe they can salvage him.
The Vikings won’t say this publicly.
They’ll say something like they wish McCarthy the best with his new team. But the truth is they’ve moved on because McCarthy has been too-often injured and too inconsistent when he has been able to play or practice.
Lately, McCarthy dropped from the team’s starter at the end of last season, to fighting for the starting job with Kyler Murray in training camp, to losing that battle, to then dropping to third string when the regular season began.
When Murray missed time after suffering a concussion in the season-opener, the Vikings turned to Carson Wentz in his place. McCarthy remained a backup.
That was a signal the Vikings, perhaps been most successful team at lifting up quarterbacks in recent years after they resurrected Sam Darnold’s career, were waving the white flag on McCarthy.
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But one team’s trash is another team’s treasure.
The Giants see McCarthy as a backup option to Winston after they lost starter Jaxson Dart to a likely season-ending knee injury in Week 2.
McCarthy is expected to join the Giants and try to learn the system and eventually unseat Jake Haener as the backup this season.
In a best-case scenario, the Giants are thinking McCarthy might even be worth a look as a starter later this season if Winston is injured or his performance falters.
The long-term outlook of this trade is not that the Giants are replacing Dart with McCarthy. That’s not it.
They are not replacing one oft-injured quarterback prospect with big upside with an oft-injured quarterback prospect that has less upside. The Giants remain committed to Dart and his development.
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But McCarthy serves in the short-term and becomes something of a rental through 2027 while he’s still on his rookie contract.
And if he ever lives up to his 2024 Jim Harbaugh billing, well, awesome!
Brother John Harbaugh will benefit and look like a genius.
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