If quarterback J.J. McCarthy felt the impact of outside criticism during his tenure with the Vikings, he should know he is diving into the deep end of the pool in New York City.
Gotham is now home for the 23-year-old as of today when the Vikings sent him to the Giants for a 2027 fifth round draft choice. McCarthy, Minnesota’s first round draft choice in 2024, never did establish himself as the team’s long-term answer as the starter at the most important position on the field.
This despite head coach Kevin O’Connell declaring his protégé “the franchise quarterback” prior to the beginning of the 2025 season. McCarthy couldn’t achieve enough consistency to prompt a commitment from O’Connell who brought in veteran Kyler Murray to be the “man” during the past off season.
McCarthy’s subpar mechanics have been a repetitive topic of conversation in the northland and amateur psychologists have debated his level of confidence. While, of course, McCarthy didn’t acknowledge self-doubts, his mental outlook understandably could have been at least side-swiped by booing fans, media jabs and digital digs.
There’s no pretention here to know what’s inside McCarthy’s head but he is a long-time practitioner of meditation and mindfulness. And it will be no yoga camp or mental health retreat in New York where media and fans are capable of eating quarterbacks for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
If McCarthy wants a tutorial, he’s probably got the phone numbers of former quarterback teammates Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones on speed dial. They could tell stories about the raucous and often disapproving culture of the big city from their times with the Jets and Giants respectively. Darnold got an earful for not being the franchise savior and Jones was even booed on draft night.
This is a change, however, that McCarthy and his inner circle apparently wanted. He could have a shot at the starting job later this season, replacing 32-year-old journeyman Jameis Winston. Starter Jaxson Dart is injured and out for the season.
McCarthy will start out with the confidence of head coach John Harbaugh who almost certainly spoke with brother Jim Harbaugh prior to the trade. The latter was McCarthy’s head coach at Michigan in 2023 when the Wolverines won the national championship. There’s no reason to believe Jim gave his brother anything less than a positive endorsement about McCarthy.
The Giants get a quarterback friendly deal with McCarthy. He’s under team control through 2027, with a team option for 2028.
The Vikings apparently lost patience with McCarthy’s development. Why else would you move on so quickly from a No. 1 draft choice and the possibility of still becoming your starter in a quarterback cluster where neither Carson Wentz nor Murray have come close to dazzling and may not.
The view here is McCarthy didn’t cause problems internally for the Vikings. He was a solid teammate and could be among the first to congratulate another Viking on making a big play.
If the Giants finish around .500 or worse in the standings after this season, the fifth round draft choice could yield a top 150 or so player in the draft. This year the Vikings took Max Bredeson in the fifth round and the fullback projects as a valued part of the team for years to come. BTW, the best of modern day NFL fifth rounders include stars Tyreek Hill, George Kittle and Puka Nacua.
Don’t think the Vikings didn’t try to do better than a fifth round pick. That’s apparently the market value right now for McCarthy who in his 10 NFL career games has thrown 12 interceptions and 11 touchdown passes.
The Giants had a firsthand look at McCarthy in the preseason. He completed four of seven passes for 34, with no interceptions. He had moments when he looked hurried and produced no points of what would be a 13-10 preseason opening win over the Giants in New Jersey.
If McCarthy turns out to be an NFL bust, the deal will look like a good one for the Vikings. If he becomes a star in the Big Apple or elsewhere, and the Vikings are still on their marathon search for a franchise quarterback, well, let’s just say the jackals will be howling like never before.