Five QB trades the Giants could make with Jaxson Dart out for season, including two with ties to John Harbaugh

New York is turning to Jameis Winston for now, but several mobile quarterbacks and familiar faces could emerge as trade targets if the veteran struggles

Sep 23, 2026 at 3:21 pm ET • 7 min read

The NFL season hasn't even hit Week 3, and the New York Giants are already in trouble. Jaxson Dart is expected to be out for the season after suffering a knee injury during the first quarter of New York's 28-6 loss to the Rams in Week 2. 

With Dart out, the Giants turn the offense over to Jameis Winston. The former No. 1 overall pick just signed a two-year, $13 million extension with New York, so the Giants clearly have some faith in him, but if he struggles over the next week or two, that could open the door for John Harbaugh and general manager Joe Schoen to start poking around for another quarterback. 

One potential problem with Winston is that he has a completely different skill set than Dart, which is why it wouldn't be completely crazy for the Giants to look around for a mobile QB.

With that in mind, we're going to take a look at five trade options that could make sense. This list will consist of two types of quarterbacks: guys who are mobile and/or guys who have ties to the coaching staff, which will make it much easier to get them acclimated to New York's offense.

Ravens QB Tyler Huntley

If the Giants do end up making a trade, adding Huntley would probably make the most sense. Huntley spent the first four seasons of his career in Baltimore playing under Harbaugh. After heading to Miami in 2024, he returned to Baltimore last season to spend one more year with Harbaugh. During his time in Baltimore, Huntley saw plenty of action: He started a total of 12 games under Harbaugh, including a wild-card playoff game in January 2023. 

The former Pro Bowler has the mobility Harbaugh loves to see in his quarterbacks, and he's always done a good job of using it on the field. One other upside to adding Huntley is that Greg Roman is on the Giants' coaching staff. Roman was the Ravens' offense coordinator during Huntlery's first three seasons, so he could quickly get him up to speed on the playbook that offensive coordinator Matt Nagy is running in New York. 

Due to Lamar Jackson's injury history, the Ravens might not be willing to part ways with Huntley, but Baltimore did keep rookie Joe Fagano on the roster, so it's certainly possible that they would think about making a deal at the right price. 

Chiefs QB Justin Fields

When the 2026 offseason started, Fields was in New York with the Jets, so a deal here would send him back to the Big Apple. The Jets ended up trading him to the Chiefs in March, which was a move that made sense at the time. When the offseason started, the Chiefs weren't sure if Patrick Mahomes was going to be ready to play in Week 1, so they added Fields as an insurance policy. With Mahomes now back on the field and looking like himself through the first two weeks, the Chiefs might be willing to ship Fields off to New York. One reason Kansas City might be open to a trade is that they already have a potential backup QB on the roster in rookie Garrett Nussmeier. 

One reason Harbaugh might be interested in adding Fields is that the Giants' offensive coordinator, Matt Nagy, is already familiar with him. Nagy coached during Fields' rookie year with the Bears in 2021. 

Titans QB Mitchell Trubisky 

If the Giants want someone who could come in and learn the offense quickly, Trubisky would make a lot of sense. The Titans backup QB started his career in Chicago in 2017 when the Bears selected him with the second overall pick in the NFL Draft. In 2018, Trubisky led the Bears to an 11-3 record and a playoff appearance and his coach that year just happens to be the same guy who is currently serving as the offensive coordinator with the Giants: Nagy. 

Nagy and Trubisky spent three seasons together in Chicago, and they went 25-13 during that span. That doesn't sound possible, but it's true. The only thing that could throw a wrench into a possible deal for Trubisky is that he plays for the Titans, who the Giants happen to be playing this week. The Titans probably wouldn't want to make a deal until after the game, which could potentially work out well, because that would give the Giants an extra week to figure out if Jameis Winston is good enough to carry the offense. 

Colts QB Anthony Richardson

This might be the perfect time for Indianapolis to unload Richardson, who made a trade request earlier this offseason. He did win the backup job in Indianapolis this year, but if the Colts decided to trade him to New York, they'd still have Riley Leonard to take over the No. 2 spot. 

By trading him away, it would allow the Colts to get something in return for Richardson, who was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. If they keep him on the roster, he'll likely be leaving in free agency at the end of the year, and they'll get nothing in return. 

This would almost be an ideal situation for both sides. Since the Colts didn't pick up Richardson's fifth-year option, that means his rookie deal is going to expire at the end of the 2026 season. If Richardson got dealt to New York and played well, that would put him in a position to cash in when he hits free agency after the season. As for the Giants, they wouldn't be tied to Richardson in any way, since his contract would expire at the end of the year. 

Bengals QB Joe Flacco

If there's one guy in the NFL who can show up and be productive right away, it's definitely Flacco. Last season, he got traded to the Bengals on Oct. 7, didn't participate in his first practice until Oct. 8, but that didn't stop him from throwing for 219 yards and two touchdowns in a 27-18 loss to the Packers on Oct. 12. 

The difference between Cincinnati and New York is that Flacco wouldn't be in a totally unfamiliar situation because he would be reuniting with his former head coach, John Harbaugh. Flacco's first year in the NFL came in 2008, which just happened to be Harbaugh's first year as head coach of the Ravens. The Harbaugh-Flacco combination had a lot of success during their 11 seasons together in Baltimore, including a Super Bowl win in 2012. 

Yes, that was 14 years ago, and yes, Flacco is now 41, but the Giants don't need him to be their franchise quarterback. They need him to play at high level for 15 games and that's something he might be able to pull off. In six starts with the Bengals last season, Flacco averaged 272.7 passing yards per game while also throwing 13 touchdown passes compared to just four interceptions. 

Flacco ending his career with the same head coach who was there at the beginning would also be kind of a poetic way for the former Super Bowl MVP to go out. Of course, for the Giants to get Flacco, the Bengals would have to be willing to trade him and there's no guarantee that would happen. Due to Joe Burrow's injury history, the Bengals would probably prefer to hold on to Flacco unless they got absolutely blown away by an offer. 

That said, the two front offices are very familiar with each other thanks to the April trade that sent Dexter Lawrence to Cincinnati, so anything is possible. 

Other quarterbacks who could be available for trade: J.J. McCarthy, Mac Jones. As I mentioned above, we stuck to two types of quarterbacks on our trade list: They either had to be mobile or familiar with the current coaching staff or both. If the Giants want classic pocket passer, it would probably just make sense to stick with Winston, who's in his second season with the team.

In terms of free agency, the Giants could give Jimmy Garoppolo a call, but at this point, he might not be a huge upgrade over Jameis Winston. There's also Russell Wilson, but he seems more than happy working with us here at CBS Sports. 

The Giants do have a chance to save their season here. If they can find a QB who can play at a high level -- even if that QB ends up being Winston -- they could stay afloat all season. Over the next five weeks, the 1-1 Giants will play three games against teams that are currently 0-2 (Titans, Texans, and Commanders), along with a game against the Cardinals, so there are some winnable games that New York needs to take advantage of.