Giants' J.J. McCarthy Drama is Getting More Bizarre

The New York Giants acquired J.J. McCarthy in a trade with the Minnesota Vikings last month after Jaxson Dart went down with a season-ending knee injury. Okay. Fine. They needed another quarterback.

But what exactly are the Giants trying to achieve with McCarthy?

McCarthy ran four plays against the Washington Commanders on Sunday. He did complete one screen pass to Malik Nabers for a first down, but it was called back due to an illegal shift penalty. Otherwise, McCarthy gained zero yardage on the day.

Now, John Harbaugh is saying New York is planning on "expanding" the McCarthy package heading into Week 6 against the Washington Commanders.

What exactly does that entail?

Jameis Winston threw for 326 yards and three touchdowns last weekend, leading the Giants back from a 27-13 fourth-quarter deficit to force overtime (the game ended in a tie). He's playing well right now, and New York is winning (or at least not losing). Why take the ball out of his hands?

I understand that the Giants need to improve their run game, and McCarthy gives them a better chance to do that than Winston. But good luck keeping an opposing defense off balance by using that method.

It almost seems like New York is trying to force things with McCarthy right now because it traded a fifth-round pick for him, which was a mistake.

The Giants shouldn't have parted with draft capital to bring in a young quarterback when Dart will be back under center next season. And let's be real: McCarthy wasn't taking this team to the playoffs. Winston, on the other hand, has a shot.

Perhaps Harbaugh and Matt Nagy are coming up with some creative ways to utilize McCarthy this Sunday, but what can they actually do?

Or maybe the Giants are just trying to get McCarthy's feet wet in the event that Winston suddenly flames out, which would then result in New York turning to the new signal-caller.

Either way, it just seems awkward.

It's not like this is a quarterback the Giants drafted. This is someone they just acquired from another team and probably doesn't have much of a future with Big Blue. That is, of course, unless, New York is not entirely sold on Dart moving forward.

But even then, is McCarthy really the guy to whom you're going to hitch your wagon? Shouldn't you then just punt to the 2027 NFL Draft, which is slated to be teeming with elite quarterback talent?

I'm not sure what the Giants are trying to accomplish here. All I know is that they haven't been losing games, and hopefully that can continue.