The New York Giants traded for Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy on Monday, Sept. 28, to help provide depth at the position following Jaxson Dart's season-ending knee injury.
Before acquiring McCarthy, John Harbaugh was able to get a scouting report on the 23-year-old from his brother, Jim Harbaugh, who coached McCarthy at Michigan.
Jim Harbaugh, now coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, confirmed he had spoken to his brother about McCarthy in a news conference on Wednesday, Sept. 30.
"I mean, John called me and asked me," Harbaugh told reporters when asked whether he had given his brother a scouting report. "I said, 'John, I love you. I love J.J. I think you guys would be...' so, really, I'm telling you the same thing that I told my brother."
Harbaugh didn't elaborate any further on the information he had shared with his brother about McCarthy.
Harbaugh and McCarthy won a national championship together at Michigan during the 2023 college football season. McCarthy's efficient performance – he completed 72.3% of his passes for 2,991 yards, 22 touchdowns and four interceptions – and dual-threat capabilities helped establish him as a first-round prospect for the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Vikings ultimately selected McCarthy with the 10th overall pick, but he struggled to establish himself in Minnesota. He played in just 10 games because of a variety of injuries and endured issues with accuracy and turnovers, completing just 57.6% of his passes for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions across 12 starts.
McCarthy began the 2026 NFL season as the Vikings' third-string quarterback behind Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz, so the team was ultimately comfortable with trading him to the Giants in an early-season move.
John Harbaugh, Giants looking forward to giving J.J. McCarthy fresh start
John Harbaugh spoke about the McCarthy trade at a media availability on Monday, Sept. 28. He explained the team was looking to add quarterback depth after Dart's injury and that eventually led the team to gravitate toward McCarthy.
"We're really glad, really happy, very excited to add J.J. McCarthy," Harbaugh said. "Think he's a strong, young quarterback. Has some experience in the National Football League. Obviously, was a very high draft pick, a very talented player. He's going to make us a stronger football team. So, excited about it. I think it makes us better."
Harbaugh was clear McCarthy would not be handed the starting job immediately. He confirmed Jameis Winston would remain in that role and that McCarthy's main focus would be on getting up to speed about the Giants' offense.
Still, Harbaugh lauded McCarthy's skill set and expressed confidence that the 23-year-old signal-caller has great "talent."
"He's a talented guy, there's no doubt about it," Harbaugh said. "He's talented. He was a top-10 pick for a reason and there's plenty of good tape, even in the NFL out there. I know he didn't hold onto that job in Minnesota, and that's why he's available. If he had, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now. It would be somebody else."
"I spent a lot of time looking at him last week along with a few other guys and I came away impressed," Harbaugh added. "Our scouts had already done the work and I saw the reports, and I would have to concur with the reports based on what I saw – he can throw it, he can run it, he can make plays. There's a lot of things he could do better from what he did, obviously. We're gonna see where it goes from here. That's what it really boils down to.
"But from a talent standpoint, I don't think anybody would deny that J.J. McCarthy is a very talented young quarterback."
Harbaugh also acknowledged he had some information about what it was like for his brother while coaching McCarthy at Michigan.
"He always had good things to say about J.J.," Harbaugh explained of his brother.
Even so, the Giants coach did not elaborate on any specific conversations he had with his brother about McCarthy. Instead, he pointed toward his own experience watching McCarthy play at Michigan as influencing his evaluation of the young quarterback.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jim Harbaugh gave brother J.J. McCarthy scouting report before Giants trade
