Michigan Alum Rich Reacts to the Vikings Trading JJ McCarthy to the Giants

Michigan's 2026 season has a clock problem. JJ McCarthy's career, it turns out, does not.

Rich opened his reaction to the Vikings shipping McCarthy to the Giants with a bit of Wolverine grief. Against Western Michigan in Week 1 and again against Iowa this weekend, Michigan needed more time and ran out of it in its own stadium, "much to the delight of everybody who thought Michigan should be two and two." The theme of the year, as Rich put it: when you think you don't have time, you're told you have it, and when you want it, you don't get it.

For the national championship quarterback, though, the clock is still running. "He's got more time," Rich said. "He's got more time."

The twist is where that time is being spent. Rich laid out the history: the Giants wanted Drake Maye and couldn't get him, then had a shot at McCarthy and passed. Brian Daboll, who was in the building with Robert Saleh and the Titans in the rain on Sunday, went with Malik Nabers instead. "Very talented kid obviously," Rich said. "And now who is he going to be catching passes from potentially? JJ McCarthy. Can't make this stuff up."

Minnesota never quite made it work. Rich walked through the arc: a first year lost to a knee injury, a second year with some wins, some rough outings, and a meme born from McCarthy calling himself "nine," his number. When year three arrived, the Vikings went with a veteran who was free and inexpensive in Kyler Murray, with Carson Wentz as the backup.

And the defense has made that decision look fine so far. Rich's stat of the segment: Minnesota is 3-0 with the second worst yardage differential of any 3-0 team in NFL history, at minus 224. "They've been out-yarded by 224 yards and they're still 3 and 0," he said. So the Giants, who once passed on moving up to take McCarthy 10th overall, have decided he is now worth a fifth-round pick, flipped to Minnesota to try and salvage this season.

The Giants need help. Rich noted they have reportedly lost Brian Burns for the year with an ACL, "arguably their best defensive player," on top of their quarterback being out. Jameis Winston didn't look good in the loss to the Rams, which Rich was willing to partly chalk up to a shocked team facing a very good defense. Against the Titans in brutal weather, the Giants didn't put many points on the board and nearly lost it late. Still, they are 2-1.

The Michigan connection in New York runs deep. Rich pointed to Matt Nagy and John Harbaugh, Jim's brother, as the staff who will coach McCarthy up. "John no doubt knows about JJ McCarthy and who he is and what he can do," Rich said. "Trust me, he was living and dying with that Michigan team just like I was. And Jim knows exactly who this kid was, and I'm sure John has been downloaded with all of that."

The schedule gives them a window. Next up for the Giants: home for Arizona, at Washington, home for New Orleans, at Houston, a stretch Rich said "doesn't appear to be as crazy an assignment as before." The open question is how fast McCarthy can get up to speed and when he gets thrown in.

Rich's bigger point was about the league itself. "Anybody who thinks that just being benched or being shut down on the depth chart is the end of your career in the NFL, I don't know how many times we can keep proving that's not the case over and over and over again," he said.

JJ McCarthy is now a Giant. Go figure.