Jameis Winston has time to prove he's the Giants' starter

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- J.J. McCarthy's first week with the New York Giants is being spent as the third-string quarterback. He arrived after being traded from the Minnesota Vikings for a fifth-round pick and begins behind veteran Jameis Winston and Jake Haener. Being the third-stringer seems like a temporary thing given his pedigree and the situation. The likelihood is that McCarthy will climb the depth chart once he learns the new offense and gets acclimated to his surroundings. He will either be the backup to Winston or eventually become the team's starter. It's all dependent on how Winston plays at home on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals (1 p.m. ET, CBS) and likely next week on the road against the Washington Commanders. He'll have to play better than he did against the Los Angeles Rams or Tennessee Titans. It could be considered a two-week tryout. Coach John Harbaugh says he is worried about this week and this week only. He even wore a black shirt with big white letters at Wednesday's practice that read "1-0" to accentuate that point. Winston, a 12-year veteran, knows how this all works. "I have to play well regardless. That's it," he said emphatically on Wednesday. "It doesn't matter who's in the building. When you're the quarterback for the New York Football Giants, you have to give your team a chance to win. That's just the business that we're in." The Giants (2-1) are in a position at the moment where they can be patient. Harbaugh didn't feel the need to talk with Winston this week about trading for McCarthy and the status of his starting job. Harbaugh did say early in the week that it was going to be "a challenge" for McCarthy to learn the playbook. They'll see how he does and then determine whether he'll jump Haener on the depth chart against Arizona. But while McCarthy is talented and was selected in the top 10 of the 2024 NFL draft, there is no guarantee he will pick up the offense quickly. And even if he does, who says that McCarthy can play at a level higher than Winston and deserve to be the starter? There are still questions about what he truly is as a quarterback at the NFL level. One thing is certain: Winston will have to play better than he has in his first two games this season. He has a 22.9 QBR, dead last by a wide margin among the 30 qualifying quarterbacks. Only the Chargers' Justin Herbert (27.4) is below 35.0. Winston also has a 29.2% off-target percentage on his 49 pass attempts. That is also the worst among all quarterbacks. The 32-year-old is convinced there is plenty left in his arm. "Yeah, I know what I'm capable of, but also I know what's required of me," Winston said. "I can make all the throws. I can do anything I put my mind to. I'm blessed to that point. But at the same time, my job is to give the team the best chance to win." Winston led the Giants to a win on Sunday against the Titans. He pointed out it's hypocritical to criticize him for losing and throwing interceptions while racking up big yardage totals but not give him credit for doing what is necessary to win. Harbaugh also noted he won't be playing in a nor'easter every week, as was the case against the Titans. Offensive coordinator Matt Nagy attributes this past week's misses to user error and the weather. "There's a little bit of the sinker ball that with a couple of the low throws that he had over the middle of the field. Jameis will tell you that. ... And it wasn't easy. It was misting and raining a little bit," Nagy said. "But I think Jameis will also be the first to tell you that's not an excuse. So mechanically, Jameis knows to keep that wide base to be able to throw through the throw and be able to make a friendlier catch for some of these passes." The Giants might have more patience with Winston than most seem to expect. The locker room believes in him implicitly. They saw last season during his two-start stint that he can play at a fairly high level. His performance on the road against the Detroit Lions (18-of-36 for 366 yards with two TDs passing and one receiving) was evidence. New York also thought several weeks ago he was among the league's best backup quarterbacks when it signed him to a two-year extension. It guaranteed Winston more than $6 million next season. That's not the type of commitment to make in a quarterback you don't believe can play. McCarthy already looked like a quarterback this week who was willing to learn from Winston. He was doing static stretching and bear crawls with Winston on the field long after his first practice as a Giant ended. But McCarthy comes to New York with more than just questions about his maturity. He was third among all qualifying quarterbacks last season with a 19.3% off-target rate. His QBR of 36.1 was only above Geno Smith's 34.5 for the Las Vegas Raiders. Many of the concerns that led to the Giants passing on McCarthy in the draft were noticeable in his on-field performance for Minnesota. But as Harbaugh noted, McCarthy was a "top-10 pick for a reason." He has talent. The Giants are going to see if they can work with that. It will be as a contingency for Winston, for now. "It's an opportunity for us to improve our team, one little way maybe," Harbaugh said. "And who knows where it goes or where it doesn't go. ... I mean, he had a really good practice. Seems like he picked things up we asked him to pick up really well. Was in here late, early, studying, learning. [He] has a really good football foundation, all that kind of stuff. And that's exciting. It's another good football player at an important position."