From the moment that the New York Giants acquired Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy this past week, fans have understandably had two vital questions on their mind:
- When will McCarthy potentially replace Jameis Winston as the Giants’ interim starting quarterback?
- What does McCarthy’s arrival mean for the incumbent Jaxson Dart, who has a lengthy history of concussions and is expected to miss the rest of the regular season with a knee injury?
Giants legend Eli Manning doesn’t have the answers, but he does believe McCarthy will need roughly six weeks to acclimate to a new system. The two-time Super Bowl champion added that he has not spoken with anyone inside the Giants’ organization and was only making an estimation.
“I don’t think this is a, 'Hey, we got to get this kid and get him ready as soon as possible to play,’” Manning told ESPN Radio’s Gary Myers. “I think Jameis is the guy."
How should New York Giants fans feel about Eli Manning’s J.J. McCarthy prediction?
Despite whatever social media users might believe, there is no indication that John Harbaugh and the Giants will turn to McCarthy anytime soon. Winston is the starting quarterback, and all parties have made that clear over the past weeks.
What that means for McCarthy’s practice workload isn’t overly complicated. The role of a backup quarterback is exactly what it sounds like; they don’t typically take first-team reps so long as the starter is healthy.
“If you’re going to give one of those reps to someone else, that’s one less rep,” Manning explained. “So it’s just about getting reps versus different looks, so you know how to play fast and understand how it might work out.”
Fans might not want to hear that, especially given Winston’s penchant for turnovers and inconsistent play. Be careful what you wish for, though, because McCarthy didn’t show much promise during his lone season starting for the Vikings. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have traded for Kyler Murray this past spring or added Carson Wentz, two moves that effectively ended McCarthy’s time in Minnesota before offseason workouts even started.
We might sound down on McCarthy, and we know that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Look at how Baker Mayfield, Geno Smith, and Sam Darnold salvaged their careers and got paid in the process. But the truth is that Winston getting hurt is likely the only way that we’ll see McCarthy take the field anytime soon.
As for whether you consider six weeks to be “soon,” that’d put McCarthy on track to start around Nov. 22 against the Jaguars. That’s never how things go in the NFL.
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