Good morning, New York Giants fans! Here are the stories you need to know the day after the Giants acquire QB J.J. McCarthy and lose Brian Burns for the year.
> **Giants grade: C.** But the Giants’ front office should look in the mirror over its bungling of the Winston situation. It’s not unreasonable for the Giants to be aggressive in finding a better replacement given how much time is left in the season. But they clearly shouldn’t have signed Winston to an extension right before the season if this is how they feel about him!
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> Even though Murray is a free agent at the end of this season, McCarthy’s ship had already sailed in Minnesota after he couldn’t beat out Wentz. If he wasn’t going to be the Vikings’ backup quarterback, his value would likely have continued to drop. To get a fifth-round pick while saving a few million across his remaining 2026 and 2027 compensation (not nothing!) makes sense. They have uncertainty at quarterback in 2027, yes. But that was true whether McCarthy was there or not.
> Yet it at least has a chance to work, which is likely better than you can say about the other options the Giants had. Most of them were short-term rentals. Most of them were older and more experienced, but there was a reason they were either unemployed or available by trade.
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> That’s a reminder of where McCarthy was prior to the trade: the third QB option on a team that ranks last in the NFL in total yards, pass yards and first downs. It should also serve as a warning for any Giants fans counting on this saving their season.
> With the Giants trading for J.J. McCarthy, the club will make another roster move to keep just two quarterbacks on their 53-man roster. Per Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, New York will waive Jake Haener but intend to re-sign him to the team’s practice squad. Haener was promoted to the active roster on Saturday after Jaxson Dart suffered a long-term knee injury last Monday night. Haener, 27, joined the Giants in August after spending some time with the Chiefs during the offseason program.
> **Grade: D.** Jameis Winston didn’t do enough for the New York Giants to beat the Tennessee Titans. That’s OK. He didn’t to. The Giants benefited from a ground-and-pound approach, a strong defensive effort and multiple Titans mistakes. Tennessee didn’t pieced together a drive longer than three plays until the team’s seventh offensive possession. Winston simply needed to avoid a significant mistake, which he did.
> The concerns following the Giants entering the season — the availability of Dart, Cam Skattebo and Malik Nabers, plus the maturity of Dart/Skattebo — were mostly realized in less than two games.
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> But the key questions that followed the Giants into this season will follow them into 2027 as well. They should not assume those questions will be answered to their liking. The evidence so far suggests some of the team’s biggest bets carry even greater risk.
> If New York’s quarterback was the team’s most important offensive player, Burns held that role for the defense. He is a monster on the field, evident by his 16.5 sacks a season ago. He’s an elite edge rusher and solid against the run, but more than anything, the heart-and-soul and emotional leader of that side of the ball.
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> So many players treat this as a job – justifiably so. Burns took everything that happened on the field to heart. When the Giants blew a late lead to the Broncos last season, it was Burns who sat in his locker stall after the game, in full game uniform, crying. Teammates gravitate toward that level of emotion, care. It’s why they elected him captain the last two years.
> The 37-year-old — who played three games for the Buccaneers last season after being away being away from football for nearly two years — tagged the Giants in a post on X that said, “@Giants what’s up.” Pierre-Paul signed with the Bucs’ practice squad in December 2025, and was activated for three games late in the season.
> New York Giants rookie linebacker Arvell Reese responded to a disappointing performance last week with a game-high 13 tackles on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.
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> “After a loss, you always want to self-reflect and see what you could be doing better,” Reese said. “So I just self-reflected on that and came out this weekend with a chip on my shoulder. And that’s really how I approach every game, but after a loss, you’re always chasing wins.”
Big Blue View
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Grade the J.J. McCarthy trade
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What grade would you give the Giants' acquisition of J.J. McCarthy for a 2027 fifth-round pick?
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