J.J. McCarthy was not quite ready to be the backup quarterback six days after the Giants acquired him in a trade with the Vikings. Heading into his second week with his new team, it sure sounds as if the Giants will do everything possible to fast-forward the learning process to get McCarthy into the No. 2 spot behind starter Jameis Winston in time for Sunday’s game with the Commanders.
“I think that’s a possibility, we’ll see how it goes during the week,’’ head coach John Harbaugh said Monday. “That’s definitely on the table.’’
McCarthy was active for the 36-24 victory over the Cardinals as the No. 3 quarterback, behind Winston and Jake Haener. Harbaugh said there were a few packages in the game plan for McCarthy, but there was no time in the game when there was any thought of putting him on the field. Winston threw three touchdown passes and two interceptions as the Giants improved to 3-1.
McCarthy did not play in any of the first three games for the Vikings before they traded him to the Giants for a 2027 fifth-round draft pick.
The Giants did not escape unscathed from their Week 4 victory. Braxton Berrios, their primary kickoff and punt returner, came out of the game with a foot/ankle issue and could be headed to injured reserve, which would mean missing the next four games.
Harbaugh said “our first look would be internally,’’ which means Charlie Jones would move in as the primary returner.
“I’m sure we’ll turn over every stone too, but sometimes the best stones are right under your feet,’’ Harbaugh said.
Jones signed last week off the practice squad after the Giants released veteran receiver Odell Beckham Jr. He had two kickoff returns and two punt returns in his Giants debut. In 33 games for the Bengals the past three seasons, Jones had 47 kickoff returns and 50 punt returns, with three touchdowns.
Jones, 27, caught 110 passes in 2022 at Purdue and was a 2023 fourth-round draft pick of the Bengals.
The Giants have receivers Dalen Cambre and Jalin Hyatt on their practice squad. Cambre is a returner; Hyatt is not. Berrios, as the No. 4 wide receiver, was not part of the passing game, with only 24 snaps (9 percent) on offense in the first four games, and only one target and no receptions.
Bryan Hudson made his first NFL start one to remember. He played every snap at center, allowed only one pressure and earned a pass block win rate of 91.3, according to NextGen Stats. That was 12th among the 30 centers who played prior to the Monday night game.
Hudson was in the lineup because John Michael Schmitz Jr. missed a few days of practice as he and his wife welcomed the birth of their first child.
After the game, Harbaugh said Hudson’s appearance as the starter was “not a long-term thing.’’ A day later, asked if Schmitz will return to the starting lineup this week, Harbaugh said, “We’ll see. I’ll say Huddy played really well and we were excited about him going in. Maybe it creates some options for us, but JMS was playing really well too. Very good problem to have, I guess you could say, if that’s what you want to call it.’’
