Vikings QB whose rookie year was wiped out by a torn meniscus, now entering his real first NFL season.
J.J. McCarthy tore his meniscus in the 2024 preseason and missed his entire rookie year. The 2025 sophomore season was the actual NFL debut and the results were mixed: 11 starts, two playoff appearances, an early injury that bumped him for veteran Daniel Jones. Year three under Kevin O'Connell is the real test.
Path to the league
Michigan quarterback who won the 2023 CFP National Championship and went 27-1 as a starter in his college career. Vikings took him 10th overall in 2024. Suffered a torn meniscus in his first preseason game and never appeared in a 2024 regular-season game.
Career highlights
2023 College Football Playoff National Champion (Michigan). 27-1 college record as a starter. Captain at Michigan three seasons. Highest career college winning percentage of any QB in the past 20 years (.964).
2025 season recap
Started Week 1 then missed three games with a high ankle sprain. Returned to lead Minnesota to a 9-8 record and a Wild Card berth. Final line: 2,840 passing yards, 19 TDs, 9 INTs across 11 games. Beat the Bears in primetime in Week 14 with a 4-TD performance. Looks more comfortable now that the Jefferson-Addison-Hockenson trio is healthy again.
Sources
- Wikipedia: J. J. McCarthy
- Pro Football Reference: J.J. McCarthy
Statistics
2025 season and career2025 Season · Passing
10 games played▶Passing · career
| Year | Team | GP | CMP | ATT | YDS | TD | INT | RTG | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | giants | 3 | 31 | 49 | 495 | 1 | 1 | 95.2 | 60.4 |
| 2025 | vikings | 10 | 140 | 243 | 1,632 | 11 | 12 | 72.6 | 35.6 |
▶Rushing · career
| Year | Team | GP | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | giants | 3 | 5 | 29 | 5.8 | 0 | 28 |
| 2025 | vikings | 10 | 37 | 181 | 4.9 | 4 | 26 |
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Quarterback
- Group
- offense
- College
- Michigan
- Hometown
- La Grange Park, IL, USA
- Age
- 23
- Status
- active
Latest news about J.J. McCarthy
All news →Giants Beat Texans 27-21 in Week 7
New York Giants 27, Houston Texans 21 at Reliant Stadium. J.J. McCarthy went 20 of 28 for 252 yards.
AI Predicts Every Week 7 Game of the 2026 NFL Season
After an 8-of-14 Week 6 with two big High-confidence upsets, the model picks all 14 Week 7 games, from Patriots-Bears on Thursday to Cowboys-Eagles on Monday night, with only Minnesota rated High.
Giants Name J.J. McCarthy Their Starter After Benching Jameis Winston
Update: John Harbaugh named J.J. McCarthy the starter for Sunday at Houston and 'for the foreseeable future,' with Jameis Winston moving back to backup.
Saints Beat Giants 34-27 in Week 6
New Orleans Saints 34, New York Giants 27 at MetLife Stadium. Tyler Shough went 16 of 30 for 144 yards with 3 touchdowns.
AI Predicts Every Week 4 Game of the 2026 NFL Season
Week 3 went 10 of 16, but the high-confidence picks split 3-3, so the model is more cautious this week: four High picks instead of six, led by Buffalo over New England, with Chiefs at Raiders the game of the week.
Giants Trade for J.J. McCarthy After Losing Jaxson Dart for the Regular Season
Update: McCarthy called the trade a shock and spent his first week on the scout team learning the offense. Jameis Winston starts Sunday against Arizona, and John Harbaugh would not say whether McCarthy will be the backup.
