First-year New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh confirmed some expected news when he announced on Wednesday afternoon that he had named J.J. McCarthy the team’s new starting quarterback over Jameis Winston.
Harbaugh initially turned to Winston after Week 1 QB1 Jaxson Dart went down with a season-ending knee injury in Week 2. While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, McCarthy revealed that he had what he referred to as a “normal conversation” with Dart after Harbaugh made the quarterback switch official.
J.J. McCarthy, Jaxson Dart “rooting for each other” as teammates
“We’re both just rooting for each other,” McCarthy said about Dart, per the Giants’ website. “And like I told him, I’m doing the same thing that you want: help win the football games for this organization and do everything we can and be the best versions of ourselves every day to help the collective. It’s been great conversations. I love Jaxson. We’ve worked with the same QB coach out in California for a long time, so we have a prior relationship.”
Shortly after the Giants acquired McCarthy from the Minnesota Vikings in late September, a report claimed that “Harbaugh loves Dart” and that the Giants will be “Dart’s team” when training-camp practices get underway next summer. Such declarations are easy to make this fall, but McCarthy presumably could spark a future competition for the Giants’ full-time starting job if he plays well and stays healthy from this coming Sunday’s game at the 2-4 Houston Texans through January.
“He hasn’t been in meetings much, but I think he’s coming back this week to really dive into the game plan and be that sounding board for me,” McCarthy added about Dart. “It’s going to be great because he is such a smart player and obviously very well-rounded in this offense. It’s going to be awesome to just ask him really anything and pick his brain about anything.”
Why J.J. McCarthy feels more ready to be an NFL starter now
The Vikings gave up on McCarthy after he made just 10 total regular-season starts across his first two pro campaigns. On Wednesday, he was asked about feeling more prepared now to be the CEO of an NFL offense than he was with Minnesota.
“I believe just experience does wonders,” McCarthy explained. “Being able to be in that same situation where you might have made a mistake the last time, this time you’re just going to react better and make a more well-rounded response decision in that situation. Just being around great talent and great coaches. Absolutely love everyone on the offensive side of the ball, and the defensive side of the ball does a tremendous job of just giving us opportunities and always making sure we stay in the game and fight to the last seconds of each game.”
As of Thursday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had the 3-2-1 Giants as 10.5-point road underdogs against the Texans. McCarthy insisted on Wednesday that he’s focused on going up against the Houston defense rather than on how the Week 7 game could possibly resuscitate his career.
“Every time you step on the field, it’s an opportunity,” McCarthy added. “Whether you’re the starting guy, whether you’re not, you have a chance to prove yourself, prove it to your peers, and prove it to everyone around you. And at the end of the day, I approach it the same way. How can I attack that next rep? How can I win this day and go from there?”
