New Giants Rumors on Jimmy G, Fields, Mac Jones Joining J.J. McCarthy as QBs Eyed After Dart Injury

While Jameis Winston could secure his starting spot moving forward with an impressive showing in Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans, the New York Giants are reportedly looking at a number of quarterbacks with Jaxson Dart sidelined for the remainder of the campaign with a knee injury.

ESPN's Ian Rapoport, Adam Schefter and Mike Garafolo reported Sunday the list of potential targets includes free agent Jimmy Garoppolo, Minnesota Vikings third-stringer J.J. McCarthy, San Francisco 49ers backup Mac Jones, Kansas City Chiefs backup Justin Fields, Arizona Cardinals backup Gardner Minshew II and Brandon Allen, who was in training camp with New York.

This comes after Tom Pelissero of The Ringer reported Saturday "it's a matter of when, not if, the Giants add another passer with starting experience, potentially as soon as Monday."

Pelissero listed McCarthy as someone who was "intriguing" as a potential option for the NFC East team.

The quarterback situation will loom over the matchup with the Titans, especially since Winston struggled during the team's Week 2 loss to the Los Angeles Rams when he entered for Dart.

He went 11-of-27 for 111 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception, although he was unexpectedly thrown into action as a pocket passer after the game plan was built around the more mobile Dart.

The veteran had time to better prepare for Sunday's game, and the ESPN report noted "how hard the Giants push to acquire a veteran quarterback will be determined, in part, by how Winston performs."

As for the other options, Pelissero highlighted how the Giants scouted McCarthy before the Vikings selected him with the No. 10 pick of the 2024 NFL draft. He also played at Michigan for Jim Harbaugh, who is the brother of New York head coach John Harbaugh.

That he is Minnesota's third-stringer makes him more expendable as well, although he is that far on the depth chart for a reason after struggling throughout the 2025 campaign with 11 touchdown passes to 12 interceptions.

There are connections in place with the other options as well.

Minshew and Fields have both played for Giants offensive coordinator Matt Nagy in the past, while Garoppolo has held discussions with New York as he remains unsigned, per ESPN. As a free agent, he also wouldn't require giving something up in a trade like the others.

Then there is Jones, who impressed last season while going 5-3 as a starter when Brock Purdy was sidelined in San Francisco.

Still, that performance underscored the importance of having a quality backup for contenders. The 49ers made the playoffs in part because of his individual play, and there could be some hesitance from teams to give up their backups with that as the backdrop.

That could also drive up the asking price in any discussions with the Giants, who are exploring a number of different options.