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(Photo by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images)
Many are waiting to see what the Minnesota Vikings do to improve their team despite being 6-0 before the trade deadline. However, the Vikings have already made a move before the November 10 deadline, acquiring the Day 3 pick from the New York Giants for JJ McCarthy.
Moreover, after two impressive weeks from McCarthy, the conversation turned to what went wrong in Minnesota. Are the Vikings too impatient to allow the young quarterback to go through growing pains, or is the system from head coach Kevin O’Connell just not a good fit?
Amid McCarthy’s success so far in New York, former NFL head coach Jason Garrett shared what went wrong during the quarterback’s stint with the Vikings and why he’s been able to turn it around since the trade to the Giants.
“Sometimes it’s about a clean slate,” Garrett said during an Oct. 30 appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show.” “Usually, these people go into a place where there’s a lot of expectation, and it doesn’t work out right at first. They never get out of that experience, and it kind of builds on itself. People outside the building start saying, ‘We picked the wrong guy. We should have hired this guy.’
“Sometimes, for a young quarterback who really hasn’t played that much football, certainly at that level, it’s hard for them to develop and develop the way they need to in that area. Then people in the building start looking around, wondering if they have the right guy or if they should get another guy. Maybe inside, you don’t feel the belief around you that helps you develop and develop like you need to.”
Why JJ McCarthy Found a New Life in New York
Furthermore, Garrett elaborated on why McCarthy had success out of the gate, which he only showed in Minnesota, and why the front office signed Kyler Murray after being a starter for one season.
“Then someone says, ‘Hey, we want you. We traded you. We need you.’ You go to that new place, and it’s fresh and clean, and there’s history there,” Garrett added. “Jim Harbaugh and John Harbaugh said, ‘We’re going to play to your strengths,’ and you feel like new life. We have to know more about this quarterback position.
“It’s rare for a rookie quarterback to come in and dominate right from the start. It’s not that big of a deal. All these guys are taking their lumps, and for him, it’s a new place. They embrace him. They need him. I think the other part is you learn and grow from your scars.”
Vikings Not Right for JJ McCarthy
Meanwhile, the Giants face off Jermaine Eluemunor stated his theory as to why McCarthy could not find consistent success with the Vikings, leading the team to give up on him and cut their losses.
“You can say that [McCarthy didn’t have a coach that believed in him with the Vikings]or maybe just not for him,” Eluemunor said in an Oct. 28 video from “Up & Adams.” “Minnesota just wasn’t the place for him. Baltimore wasn’t for me. New England wasn’t for me. Vegas was for me. New York was for me.
“I feel like life is a journey, and the NFL is a journey. Everybody wants to say, ‘Oh, this guy is a journeyman. This guy is a journeyman.’ I did travel to find where I belong, and I belong in New York. JJ is on his own path, his own journey now to find where he belongs.”
Eduardo Razo Eduardo Razo is a sports writer for Heavy.com, covering the NFL, MLB, and college football. He previously covered the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and freelanced for PSG Talk, covering Paris Saint-Germain. He also worked as an editor at Athlon Sports, focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo