J.J. McCarthy trade: Giants acquire Vikings QB in wake of Jaxson Dart injury

The Giants will add a former first-round pick to an ailing quarterback group

Sep 28, 2026 at 12:42 pm ET • 1 min read

The New York Giants are set to trade for Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy as they attempt to rebuild their signal-caller group in the wake of Jaxson Dart's season-ending injury. The Giants will send a 2027 fifth-round draft pick to the Vikings in exchange for the former first-round quarterback. The trade is pending a physical, per the Vikings. 

Whether McCarthy steps in as the Giants' starter is to be determined. New York rolled out Jameis Winston in Week 3, but the offense was mostly lifeless in the 12-7 win over the Tennessee Titans. All of the Giants' points came by way of field goals.

McCarthy has the pedigree of a potential mid-career breakout as a former No. 10 overall pick, but his Minnesota career was a bust. It would be a surprise if he ever delivered on the high expectations that followed him out of college. The Giants will give him an opportunity to attempt a career revitalization after he slipped to No. 3 on the Vikings' depth chart behind Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz.

The Giants now have three former first-round picks on their roster, which places them in rare company. Only six other teams in the common draft era constructed their offense in the same fashion.

Year	Team	Players
2026	New York Giants	Jaxson Dart, Jameis Winston, J.J. McCarthy
2025	Indianapolis Colts	Daniel Jones, Anthony Richardson, Philip Rivers
2018	Baltimore Ravens	Lamar Jackson, Joe Flacco, Robert Griffin III
2011	Oakland Raiders	Carson Palmer, Jason Campbell, Kyle Boller
1989	New York Jets	Ken O'Brien, Tony Eason, Mark Malone
1984	Chicago Bears	Jim McMahon, Steve Fuller, Greg Landry
1980	Oakland Raiders	Jim Plunkett, Dan Pastorini, Marc Wilson

Injuries derailed McCarthy's tenure in Minnesota and limited him to just 10 starts over two-plus seasons. He missed his entire rookie campaign with a torn meniscus, and sat nearly half of his second season due to a concussion, wrist fracture and ankle sprain. In the small amount of time he was healthy, McCarthy completed just 57.6% of his passes for 1,632 yards and 11 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. He also rushed for 181 yards and four scores.

The Giants reportedly made calls across the league this week in search of an addition to their quarterback group and landed on Dart over other backups like Justin Fields, Jimmy Garoppolo, Gardner Minshew II and Mac Jones, all of whom have more experience but less potential long-term upside than McCarthy.