The Minnesota Vikings traded quarterback J.J. McCarthy to the New York Giants on Monday for a 2027 fifth-round draft pick, closing the book on a first-round project that never fully took hold.
The deal is pending McCarthy passing a physical. Minnesota sits 3-0 after three weeks with Kyler Murray as the starter and Carson Wentz as the primary backup.
McCarthy, selected 10th overall in the 2024 draft out of Michigan, started 10 games for the Vikings across three seasons. He completed 140 of 243 passes last year for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, finishing with a 72.6 passer rating. He added 181 rushing yards and four scores and went 6-4 as a starter.
A knee injury suffered in the 2024 preseason kept him out his entire rookie year. In 2025 he started the opener, then missed five games with a high ankle sprain before returning in Week 9.
This season he slipped to third on the depth chart and was inactive for two of Minnesota’s first three games. The Vikings signed Murray in free agency and kept Wentz, leaving little room for the 23-year-old.
The Giants needed a quarterback after Jaxson Dart suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 2 against the Los Angeles Rams. Jameis Winston has started since, completing 25 of 49 passes for 229 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.
New York is 2-1 and hosts the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Winston managed a 12-7 win over Tennessee in wet conditions but has not thrown a touchdown in two appearances.
Former Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen said the move gives McCarthy a reset.
“J.J. gets a fresh start,” Thielen said. “He gets an opportunity to prove who he is and who he thinks he is and the Vikings kind of cut ties and get to move on and plan for their future now without him being the developmental guy to really pour a lot of time and energy into to develop him. So I think, again, it’s not a surprising thing.
“The longer you’ve been around this league and in this league and seeing all the stuff that’s happened over the years, it’s not surprising. And again, I’m very excited for J.J. to get that fresh start, to get a new set of eyes on him, for people to kind of judge him for who he is. And we’ll see what happens.”
Thielen noted other former high draft picks who needed a second chance.
“I think Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, and a lot of these guys, Kyler Murray, there’s a lot of guys that get doubted after they’re a high draft pick,” he said. “They don’t play well right away. They get pushed around the league a little bit, and then they get their opportunity again, and some make the most of it, some don’t.”
Green Bay Packers linebacker Micah Parsons called the Vikings’ decision premature.
“I’m not going to lie, I’m disappointed in the Vikings for that,” Parsons said. “I’m so disappointed. I love it for the Giants because obviously they need a backup quarterback, but this guy is in his third year in the league. He was injured his rookie year, and Sam Darnold started. Sam took off.
“They decided not to let Sam Darnold come out of the building. The whole point was he was going to be the franchise guy. If you’re saying, ‘Hey, we’re not going to pay Sam Darnold, who’s a Super Bowl champion now,’ what are we doing as a front office? How are we going to keep allowing this? And this is just across the league.”
Parsons added that development timelines vary. McCarthy posted a 7.3 percent big-time throw rate in 2025 among quarterbacks with at least 200 dropbacks, showing flashes even as turnovers piled up.
Minnesota’s new general manager did not draft McCarthy and chose to recoup a mid-round pick rather than keep a third-stringer whose value was dropping. The Vikings host Miami on Sunday while the Giants evaluate whether McCarthy can eventually push Winston.
McCarthy was coached in college by Jim Harbaugh, brother of Giants coach John Harbaugh. That connection and McCarthy’s remaining youth give New York a low-cost look at a former top-10 pick who has yet to play a full healthy NFL season.
