Giants' J.J. McCarthy gamble shows they're not giving up after Jaxson Dart's injury

Forget Brian Burns for a moment. The focus here is, once again, on Jaxson Dart.

There is likely nothing the Giants can do to actually replace their starting quarterback. Their postseason dreams, as cruel as it sounds, evaporated that night in L.A.

But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t do everything they can to try. Because they sit 2-1. There are 52 others on their roster. John Harbaugh and Joe Schoen owe it to them to do everything in their power to position the Giants to win games.

That’s marginally possible with Jameis Winston. It’s impossible if something were to happen to him.

So, they went and got J.J. McCarthy. The imperfect solution to a nightmare reality the Giants wish they could wake up from.

“We’ve been turning over every stone,” Harbaugh said. “Really glad, really happy, very excited to add J.J. McCarthy.”

It’s easy to poke holes in the decision. The Giants’ own history leads to a clear guide where to start.

McCarthy was there for them in the 2024 draft. They needed a quarterback, too. They wined and dined him, studied every fiber of his on-field play and off-field life. They did not believe he was a fit for them — New York, the city and everything that comes in the nation’s media capital, would eat him alive.

Then there’s what McCarthy’s accomplished since the Vikings selected him 10th overall. He had the inside track to earning the starting job as a rookie, but a season-ending injury handed it instead to Sam Darnold.

As the veteran pieced together the best season of his career (4,319 passing yards and 35 touchdowns), McCarthy rubbed teammates the wrong way with an apparent jealousy. He had his chance to step up the next season, when Minnesota let Darnold walk.

He crashed and burned. McCarthy went 6-4 as a starter, throwing for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He rushed for 181 yards and another four scores. Not horrible, but his erraticness on the field and immaturity off it overshadowed any potential worth developing.

The Vikings signed Kyler Murray this offseason. They brought back Carson Wentz. After a summer quarterback competition, McCarthy found himself third on the depth chart.

“This gives us the best chance to win,” coach Kevin O’Connell said.

The Giants gave Winston a two-year, $13-million extension earlier this month to be Dart’s backup. That’s a legitimate commitment. To now part with a fifth-round pick to get McCarthy is somewhat troubling and indicates the money was not well invested.

Winston was dreadful against the Rams, completing 11 of 27 passes (40.7 percent) for 111 yards and an interception. He was somewhat better against the lowly Titans but still left much to be desired in a 118-yard, zero-touchdown effort. He led the Giants to four field goals.

Schoen and Harbaugh could easily stick to their guns. Ride through with Winston no matter what. McCarthy seems to admittance they misvalued Winston’s worth. If they didn’t trust Jake Haener, elevated from the practice squad, as a backup, there were options in free agency (Jimmy Garoppolo) or practice squads (Josh Johnson) who were more than capable of riding out a game.

This aggression for McCarthy (the Vikings would not accept a sixth-round pick in compensation) is a two-fold covering: Both if Winston goes down, or if they’ve seen enough of the 32-year-old and believe they need a switch.

The expectation, talking to league sources, is that the Giants do not give up a fifth-round pick unless they plan to play McCarthy in the near future.

Minnesota was ready to move on. The Giants welcomed the chance to add a player they view as a competitor, gritty, mobile and has all the tools to be a plus passer in the NFL.

“He’s a very talented player and is going to make us a stronger football team,” Harbaugh said.

It wasn’t long ago the Giants’ crosstown rivals were dealt a similar blow. Aaron Rodgers went down four snaps into his debut season with the Jets. Behind him was Zach Wilson, the same quarterback Rodgers was brought in to replace.

In the days after Rodgers’ injury, the Jets began exploratory conversations with other quarterbacks. They had Super Bowl aspirations. They didn’t believe they were capable of accomplishing that with Wilson.

The player the front office settled on was Ryan Tannehill. Tannehill himself verbally agreed. For $10 million, he’d sign. That compensation wasn’t in the budget. The Jets had already spent on Rodgers. They’d invested the second overall pick in Wilson.

Higher-ups told the Jets to see it through with what they had — no more resources would be given. The Jets finished 7-10 and missed the playoffs.

The Giants aren’t sacrificing this season because of their pride. Through three weeks, they sit tied with the Eagles and Cowboys atop the NFC East. Neither has shown any indication they’re going to separate from the pack.

If Winston isn’t it, the Giants now have another option. They didn’t before.

Winston will start against the Cardinals, Harbaugh said. Struggles there and McCarthy better start cramming.

It could be a short leash against the Commanders, although the Giants likely prefer to get through their Week 8 bye with their heads above water, then reevaluate things.

That would give McCarthy a month to get situated before the Giants gear up for their brutal final stretch.

“You know our situation,” Harbaugh said. “You want to go get the very best quarterback you could get. Which is what we did. That’s the thinking.”

New York gave itself a minute to grieve after Dart’s MRI revealed his season was over a week ago. The same was the case for Burns, whose MRI on Monday confirmed he tore his ACL against the Titans.

The initial diagnosis on each was positive — the Giants believed they’d avoided the worst case. That optimism proved misplaced.

But no one outside the Giants building feels sorry for them. That sentiment is banned from inside, too. They aren’t blinking. They know they can’t. Certainly not Harbaugh or Schoen.

The Giants saw an opportunity on Monday to bring on a player who might be able to help them more than what they already had. So they did.

It might not work out. The Giants believe the chance it does is worth the risk.