J.J. McCarthy traded to the Giants for a 2027 fifth-round pick, but Jameis Winston stays the starter

The New York Giants traded for Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy on Monday, sending a 2027 fifth-round draft pick to Minnesota, ESPN and CBS Sports reported. That is why his name is one of the most searched in the country tonight. The short version: the Giants got a young backup at a very low price, and they say he is not their starter.

Why the Giants made the call

New York lost Jaxson Dart for at least the rest of the regular season. He had surgery Friday to repair the meniscus and MCL in his left knee, according to ESPN. Dart was hurt in the 28-6 loss to the Rams on September 21, which we covered here. That left Jameis Winston as the only other quarterback on the active roster.

Winston started Sunday's 12-7 win over the Titans and went 14 of 22 for 118 yards with no touchdowns, per CBS Sports. The Giants are 2-1.

Head coach John Harbaugh was direct about the depth chart. "Jameis is starting," he said Monday, according to ESPN. McCarthy will be the No. 2 or No. 3 quarterback this week while he learns the offense, and the Giants host the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

The price tells you what the league thinks

Two years ago Minnesota traded up to take McCarthy 10th overall. On Monday he went for a fifth-round pick a year from now. That gap is the story.

He missed his whole rookie season with a torn meniscus. In 2025 he made 10 starts, completing 57.6% of his passes for 1,632 yards with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, CBS Sports reported. His 72.6 passer rating ranked last among qualified quarterbacks. Minnesota went 6-4 in those starts, 9-8 overall, and missed the playoffs.

This offseason the Vikings signed Kyler Murray, who won the job in camp. McCarthy then fell to third behind Carson Wentz after an ankle injury. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, cited by ESPN, he is one of four quarterbacks in the past 25 years to start 10 or fewer games for the team that drafted him, along with Paxton Lynch, Trey Lance and Johnny Manziel.

He is also still 23 years and 9 months old, younger than most quarterbacks drafted this spring, ESPN noted. The Giants scouted him heavily before the 2024 draft and considered him at No. 6. Harbaugh's brother Jim coached him to a national title at Michigan.

What each side gets

• Giants: a cheap option for the season with some upside. If Winston struggles, there is a former top-10 pick behind him rather than a practice-squad call-up. If McCarthy never plays, all it cost was a Day 3 pick.
• Vikings: the pick, about $4.6 million in cash and cap space cleared, per CBS Sports, and a clear order of Murray first and Wentz second. "We got to the point where the return made sense for us now," general manager Nolan Teasley said, according to ESPN.

Minnesota is 3-0 after Sunday's 23-16 win at Tampa Bay. It hosts Miami on Sunday, with Justin Jefferson dealing with an ankle sprain that ESPN says may not keep him out.

What to watch

Nothing changes for New York this Sunday. The real test comes a few weeks out, once McCarthy knows the playbook. If Winston's passing numbers look like Sunday's, pressure to try the younger player will grow. The trade deadline is November 10, ESPN reported, so this probably won't be the last quarterback move of the fall.

Results from Week 3 are on our NFL scores page, and Giants-Cardinals and Dolphins-Vikings are on the NFL schedule.

Sources: ESPN trade report, ESPN analysis, CBS Sports trade grades, CBS Sports trade report, ESPN team schedules. Reported Monday evening, September 28, 2026.