It would be way, way too easy for Dallas Cowboys fans to make fun of their NFC East rival New York Giants following their Monday acquisition of J.J. McCarthy. And while McCarthy, or "Nine," is the butt of seemingly every joke on social media, let's hold off on laughing at the Giants until down the road.
Dunking on New York for making the trade is low-hanging fruit, considering the current perception of McCarthy as a meme. But let's not forget that just two weeks ago, the Cowboys lost to the Giants in a defeat that "humbled" Brian Schottenheimer and Co. And they are 2-1, while Dallas sits at 1-2.
Sometimes, a fresh start is all that is needed for a young quarterback, as the revivals of Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield can attest to. And it was a low-stakes trade anyway for the GMen, so, as tempting as it is to crack jokes at their expense, it is paramount to have a bit of patience on this front.
Because McCarthy could easily work out in New York.
Cowboys fans shouldn't jump the gun and laugh at Giants' J.J. McCarthy trade
Let us remember that McCarthy was a national champion in college and a first-round selection, one that quarterback guru Kevin O'Connell traded up to get. Plus, the Giants did a lot of work on McCarthy that year, and John Harbaugh has all the info he needs from his brother, Jim, his coach at Michigan.
Playing for a Harbaugh could give McCarthy some familiarity and a chance to get his mojo back. Jameis Winston looks completely lost in Jaxson Dart's place, as if he spent the whole summer as a correspondent at the FIFA World Cup doing side quests instead of preparing to be an NFL backup.
Winston should continue starting in the meantime, but McCarthy has raised the floor and ceiling of their current quarterback room with Dart on the mend. We can at least comfortably say that he's better than Jake Haener, who has been a placeholder while the Giants figured out their next move.
And who knows? Maybe McCarthy develops under Harbaugh and Matt Nagy, and he's a long-term backup to Dart. That is a valuable thing to have, especially given how frequently Dart seems to be sidelined or hanging out in the blue medical tent.
If Winston continues to play at the level that he has, then McCarthy could even be called upon at some point this season. And with the Cowboys still on the schedule, it's for the best that fans don't write checks that their team may not be able to cash. McCarthy has shown he can pull off miracles.
Not to mention, the price that the Giants paid for McCarthy wasn't all that steep. Sending a fifth-round pick back to the Minnesota Vikings for a supposed first-round talent who is still just 23 years old and has a winning record as an NFL starter is good business by Joe Schoen.
New York is currently slated to get a fifth-round compensatory pick next spring as well, which isn't the exact same thing, but it isn't insignificant. They effectively swapped out Cor'Dale Flott for McCarthy and moved back 20 or so spots in the middle of Day 3. Time could look back on this favorably.
It was easy to laugh at the Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Bucs, San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings for taking on Mayfield and Darnold. But those worked out pretty well, as the former just inked a $100 million deal, and the latter is a Super Bowl champion. The NFL is an unpredictable league.
McCarthy could very well end up being nothing for the Giants. After all, he's completed just 57.6% of his passes at the pro level and has 11 passing touchdowns to 12 interceptions. He has four touchdowns on the ground and six fumbles. He's erratic, inexperienced, and still very much unproven.
But to write him off already or to leave out the fact that he could actually become something in New York would be irresponsible. So, while it is still a bit funny that the Giants traded for McCarthy to solve their quarterback problems, of all people, it won't be a laughing matter if he's actually the answer.
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