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David Levine -> RE: General Vikes Talk (9/29/2026 12:25:11 PM)
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9’s route
Newly acquired New York Giants quarterback J.J. McCarthy has followed a similar trajectory to Trey Lance, and that’s not a path either envisioned. The question is whether McCarthy can ever do enough to warrant another starting opportunity, which Lance has yet to accomplish.
The Minnesota Vikings traded up in the first round for McCarthy in 2024. Though McCarthy opened training camp behind starter Sam Darnold, his rookie season was officially wiped out due to meniscus surgery. He struggled with performance and more injuries over 10 starts in 2025, so the Vikings added Kyler Murray on a minimum deal in free agency.
McCarthy never did enough throughout the summer to challenge Murray, but the Vikings truly revealed their lack of trust in McCarthy when Carson Wentz was tabbed as the backup. A month later, the Vikings traded McCarthy for a fifth-round pick.
Lance also entered the league in a heavily hyped draft class, though the 2021 group has largely disappointed. The San Francisco 49ers traded up in the first round for Lance, who opened his rookie season behind veteran Jimmy Garoppolo. Lance made two starts for an ailing Garoppolo, but Lance’s time was also shortened due to knee and finger injuries.
Lance started two more games before suffering a gruesome ankle injury, and Brock Purdy emerged. The Niners traded Lance to the Dallas Cowboys in August 2023 for a fourth-round pick. Lance has since made two spot starts for the Cowboys and the Los Angeles Chargers as a backup to a pair of franchise pillars.
If there’s a lesson to be learned, perhaps it's about a quarterback's collegiate experience. McCarthy was a popular prospect in his draft class, but he was more of a projection than his peers. McCarthy made 28 starts over two seasons at Michigan and led the Wolverines to a national championship, so he made terrific use of his time.
Still, teams knew McCarthy played in a very basic offense, so he’d require time and on-the-job experience. Injuries muzzled both.
Perhaps the Vikings could have done a better job in support. The team was trying to balance the urgency of winning with a readymade roster and the patience of developing a long-term answer at QB. That’s the organizational dream — having Steve Young there to take the baton from Joe Montana — but there’s a reason the examples are few and far between. It’s hard enough to develop one quarterback, never mind two.
The Niners had fantasies of déjà vu, but Lance never had a chance with the injuries. He entered the league on the heels of 17 starts at North Dakota State, and there was concern over his massive jump from the FCS to the NFL, especially after losing the 2020 season. By the time Lance returned from the broken ankle in 2023, he’d made five starts over his previous three seasons, shattering any shot at development.
There are already similar concerns, among others, about draft prospect Brendan Sorsby, who was declared ineligible this season after admitting to making impermissible sports bets. The team that drafts Sorsby will need to be confident in its developmental plan and set checkpoints for him to amass necessary playing time. Of course, they’ll also have to hope for better injury fortune than Lance and McCarthy have experienced.
It feels inevitable McCarthy will start eventually for the Giants at some point. With Jaxson Dart likely out for the season and veteran Jameis Winston unable to provide much spark through two appearances, it’s understandable why the Giants would want to evaluate McCarthy. And they’ll need to do it sooner rather than later, because Dart should assume his perch as the starter in 2027.
It's unrealistic to believe McCarthy will become fluent in Matt Nagy’s system this season, so consider this more of an audition than a thorough evaluation. McCarthy will need to shine in those improbable circumstances to break a career arc that has begun to feel familiar.
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7637575/2026/09/29/drake-maye-patriots-c-j-stroud-texans-qb-rankings/?source=athletic_targeted_email&source=athletic_targeted_email&campaign=18078211&userId=114953
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