Daily Buzz: J.J. McCarthy Traded, Baker Out 3 Weeks and Achane Out for season with Ian Rapoport

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2:38Ian Rapoport:Welcome to NFL Daily, where a J.J. McCarthy train means an extra podcast. I'm Greg Rosenthal here on a surprise daily buzz edition of the show. And we've got our friend Ian Rappaport. And we're going to go through the biggest items of news on what's been the busiest Monday so far of the season. And we got to start, Ian. You know, you're coming off McAfee. You're going to go on ESPN. You're going to go on NFL Network. But we got you here for now. We got to start with J.J. McCarthy. the fifth round pick to the Vikings. Why did the trade happen now versus let's say a week ago or next week, some other time?

3:18I think a couple of things. One, as soon as it became clear that Jackson dart was going to miss the foreseeable future, the Vikings kind of started receiving phone calls from the giants. Giants kind of sprung into action here. And, you know, because they came back from LA so late, which was like Tuesday at like 7 p.m. or something like that. It basically delayed the trade a week. So they kind of dug in when they knew the results of the MRI, probably Wednesday. And it's like, all right, we're not going to make the trade on a Wednesday. So let's just sort of delay it a week and see how Jameis does.

3:54Jameis was fine. But I don't know that anyone could watch the performance that Jameis had and say, all right, he's going to lead the Giants to the playoffs. It was fine. They won. But like, it was still a lot of stuff out there. And so they continue to look into JJ. And I think last night, either late last night or early this morning, the trade got finalized. It's going to be official when he passes physical. And then he'll come in and the Giants will have a backup quarterback. Where it goes from here is going to be really interesting because JJ McCarthy has become a little bit of a sort of pariah.

4:29Everyone thinks it's funny. You know, he had the memes in the locker room and he's been injured a lot. And, you know, there's just a lot of things that the internet, rightfully or wrongfully, has sort of laughed at. What's interesting to me is he is really talented. Like, I remember when the Vikings had a joint practice with the Patriots. And some of the Patriots people I talked to were like, that guy was the best player on the field. And I was like, okay. Like, and he's had moments like that. so I expect him to start eventually for the Giants this season how he's going to do I have no idea but like it's really really interesting to me now yeah it is and he's only 23 years old I have to

5:13Ian Rapoport:question I don't know when that joint practice was but the evaluation skills of the Patriots it wasn't this year it was last year I mean Drake Mays on the field give me a break it was the second it was the second they had two joint practices and it was the second one first one he was he struggled second one he was great but that's sort of what it's been like honestly yeah and he's been injury prone you're being charitable and that that's what the insider does when it comes to evaluation sometimes on Jameis Winston's performance he hasn't he hasn't looked great but it was bad it was bad weather we'll see if that gets any better he only started 10 games it is amazing to just think about the J.J.

5:51McCarthy era right now Josh Rosen struggled big time as a

5:56Ian Rapoport:rookie first round pick. He got traded after only one season for a late two. Trey Lance could not have struggled anymore. He got a four. They were ready to get off of JJ McCarthy, obviously, and just take whatever they were going to get for him because a fifth round pick is not much and their quarterbacks aren't playing really well. Do you think the Baker injury and some of the other situations around the league almost pushed the Giants to move a little faster here? And before Before we move off of JJ, like, do you think of this? He's 23 years old as more of a short term fix or someone, you know, we'll have to figure out his fifth year option after this season.

6:34Ian Rapoport:But just, you know, he's another quarterback to add to the mix and darts coming off a serious injury. And could this be a mid to longer term idea? I would say if the season ends and JJ McCarthy is the starting quarterback of the Giants who are in the playoffs and they have to have the conversation about who their quarterback of the future is, then it is the greatest year they could ever have imagined. Like, that isn't, I know it's a problem, but that's a great problem. I don't know that that's going to be the case. But like, you know, if you look at just the pedigree, like if J.J. McCarthy was coming out and Jackson Dar was coming out of the draft, my guess is the evaluations would be somewhat similar.

7:16I mean, JJ was drafted earlier than Jackson Dart. So my guess is the evaluations would be somewhat similar. So could it be a long-term thing? I doubt it. But it could be a thing where the Giants say, we have a backup quarterback for the next two years. Or it could be a thing where the Giants say, he led us to the playoffs, Jax is our guy, and we are now going to take this and trade someone who we used a fifth on and trade him for a two. That could happen. Like there's a lot of good outcomes here for the Giants.

7:46Ian Rapoport:Yes. They, they do not want to be losing Jackson Dart for the season, but this at least makes it better for us in terms of content. I mean, people have their feelings about JJ McCarthy. The, the Michigan folks are out there pointing out, look, he's 27 and one when he's coached by a Harbaugh. Do you think the brother situation, no one's pointing that out. I mean, Josh Dubow of the Associated Press pointed out, I did not come up with that on my, my own. My friend, Tracy Sandler calls him. my perfect JJ, you know? I mean, people believe in JJ in an almost biblical Tebow-like way, and now he's gonna have a chance to play for a team that's two-in-one.

8:24Yeah, you were asking, basically, like, did the Harbaugh thing make this happen, right? I don't really know. I mean, it sounds ridiculous, but I don't really know that that was, like, the deciding factor. Like, they did all the work on him coming out, and obviously liked him enough to trade for him. it's also like you know if John Harbaugh liked him enough they would have offered more than a five like I think it's just it feels more like a flyer than anything else the other thing I would say as far as the compensation like it's weird that Trey Lance went for more but it's also like this is the what the price was I mean this is what someone was willing to pay for him I mean it's it's there's not a lot of teams who would have traded for him and given up anything real so like my guess is he outplays the pick but if he's just a backup the whole year then a five is probably

9:21Ian Rapoport:right yeah he's young the play hasn't been overly encouraging although he's had moments the injuries are a problem if anything the way that the vikings handled the situation and the reporting around him and maybe their lack of belief in him i think hurt that price tag i'm not going to ask you about Brian Burns, but since we last taped, we have found out through you, through your reporting, he is going to miss the season with a torn ACL. That is a massive loss for them. They are 31st in pressure rate right now. They have one sack on the entire season, so their pass rush has been a bit of a problem.

9:53Ian Rapoport:I'll get to that in a bit after we say goodbye to Ian, but I do want to hear from you on Baker Mayfield before we let you go. What are you reporting on Baker Mayfield? I know Todd Bowles spoke at the podium. It's a dislocated thumb. They had an MRI. Where is that at? And what do you think the timeline is for him to return? Okay, got good news on the MRI. No fracture. I was told no ligament and cartilage damage. Now, you know, I watched the thumb bend the wrong way. So, like, my guess is there are some strains there, which, you know, you can talk about what damage is or isn't. It's, you know, Bowles said he thinks about three weeks.

10:30I would say in medical terms, it was two to four. which is best case scenario. I mean, that's really like, you know, torn ligaments in your throwing thumb could be like, we'll see you next season. You know, I mean, that has happened before. He's got to be able to grip. That's going to make it tougher. So I would say if he's back after missing three games, that is a totally fine outcome for the Bucs. The other is, this is also going to be really interesting. Like we've seen this before where, you know, a team is high on their backup quarterback and then he goes out and plays and you're like, oh, now I get why he's a backup.

11:07The former Kansas starter Jalen Daniels is really interesting. He won the backup job for the Bucs. There are some people who really, really like him. I have no idea what he's going to be. In the building, you're saying? In the building? In the building, in the NFL. Like, this guy has some fans. And, you know, in like the Nate Tices of the world, like that realm. So I don't know. maybe he's good. I'm like, it's another one like this, you know, is, would you rather watch Baker Mayfield? You would, but there's some, really interesting quarterback things over the next couple of weeks.

11:43Ian Rapoport:As backup quarterbacks go, I am fascinated to watch him. He won that backup battle. Now you could say the backup situation that they had that he's competing against, maybe Jason light, the GM, you know, wishes he had someone more experienced, but yeah, even when Jalen Daniels came in and threw that hail Mary, I was like, that looks good. Next three games are against green Bay at, Dallas, not the toughest defenses in the world. And then Pittsburgh would be the third one. That'd be a tough matchup. I'm thinking more big picture. What do you think about this Buccaneer situation? Winless Todd Bowles coming off a disappointing 2025.

12:17Ian Rapoport:Jason light, you know, just invested in Baker may feel like this has a chance to go sideways. And how do you think the, the Baker injury impacts, you know, the job status of these guys? I don't know that it does because you could sort of argue either way. Like to go, well, you know, this team is, I don't know, let's say they go one and two. Oh, well, this team is, you know, with Baker out. It's like, oh, well, they're, you know, one and five. It's like, well, yes, but they were 0 and 3 with Baker. So like whatever argument you could make, they've struggled. Todd Bowles basically fired his entire staff this past year.

12:54When you do that as a head coach, what you do is you put the spotlight on yourself, right? I mean, if things go bad, you're generally the next to go. It's like when you, you know, change coordinators, then you do it again. It's like at some point it's like, it's me. So that's the kind of season it is in Tampa. I think, you know, he's got to win. I think there's a lot of coaches like that. We saw 10 fired last year. I don't think that's a surprise. But I mean, if it continues to go this way, then it could be a bad outcome. That said, I think they're better than this. So my guess is they rebound, even without Baker.

13:27But yeah, I mean, it's the kind of, you know, they're going to have to perform. They really are. And I think there's a bunch of teams in this situation.

13:34Ian Rapoport:Yeah, I think I saw a stat and I know we're not into gambling here on the show, but they have not covered the point spread in 13 straight games. That shows they're not meeting expectations. You know who's meeting expectations? It's Ian Rappaport. Look, I texted you to see if you could come on. You're doing McAfee, you're doing all this other stuff. You said, text me back at 125. I said, is that a yes? And you said, no, text me back. I had to find out and you made it happen. Do you miss us here at NFL Daily? You're in LA all the time. You never come and say hi. I'm in LA for, I think, 18 hours a week.

14:08That's crazy. I miss you guys only a little. I see you guys on the Twitters and on the other podcast realms. You seem to be thriving. You don't seem to miss us very much.

14:20Ian Rapoport:I mean, I don't even know what us is. We're all in the same building. You know, they're serving the same food for dinner on Sundays. You guys get food? no one's ever given me food i get there three in the morning on sundays i've never had any food well that's your problem you're working too hard uh appreciate you and uh good luck with the rest of your hits today uh that was ian rapaport and we do have some other news i want to get to so we're going to say goodbye to ian and let him go uh on your day and i will just make one final point here on on the jj mccarthy story which is they need their defense to play better than it has played or this offense won't really matter at all.

15:02Ian Rapoport:Brian Burns is, if not their best defensive player, you know, it's him or Abdul Carter and the two of them and Burns only played as a situational pass rusher on Sunday. They just haven't been as productive as you would want converting pressure into sacks 31st. Like I mentioned in pressure rate, it's a thin defensive line. You saw the big names and I got seduced by those big names. and yet if you look at the production right now, they've been a little disappointing. They're playing it safe on defense and they are going to need to be much better to support Jameis Winston or J.J. McCarthy. I also don't want to give Kevin O 'Connell a pass on this whole J.J.

15:42Ian Rapoport:McCarthy thing. I feel like at some point, Kevin O 'Connell just pointed the finger and just started blaming things behind the scenes, at least in terms of sourced reporters on J.J. McCarthy's maturity. All that's probably true, but Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz aren't exactly getting it done right now. And he's going to have to show that he can create a better offense with whoever is at quarterback. When it comes to the bucks, Todd Bowles cracks me up after the game on Sunday. And he did say Baker would be out at least three weeks. And so he wasn't saying exactly three weeks, but at least three weeks, we'll see.

16:18Ian Rapoport:I think he's trying to be conservative. I trust the end that it's probably two to four green Bay and at Dallas in in theory, are winnable-ish games for your backup quarterbacks. But both those teams are looking at Jalen Daniels and thinking, we are going to win this team against a team that is now 0-3 and can't do much right. And the expectations, the bar is so low, and Todd Bowles is part of the reason that it's so low. Funny thing, we're 0-3 and we're a game out of first place. So we have to get our stuff together. We got to reach down and do more to a coach, to a person, to a player. We got to do more and figure out what we can do more and how can we be better and come back tomorrow and get ready to go.

17:00Ian Rapoport:You know what? We don't do enough on the Sunday Night Recap show. Standings analysis. There is not a winning team in the NFC South right now. Falcons are thinking we're in it. Saints are thinking we're fine. Panthers have a big time injury that I'll get to now. J.C. Horn, Ian was actually the first person to report it and J.C. Horn is the best cornerback not just on the Panthers maybe in the division, certainly one of the best in the league, has the long-term contract to prove it. He is going to miss the season with a torn quad. He is going to get a second opinion and is hoping to avoid surgery, but it sounds like this one has all been decided.

17:40Ian Rapoport:And that is brutal for a team that I already thought was thin in the secondary. And when I went to go look at the snap counts on Sunday, I noticed that Mike Jackson, their other very good starting corner, in a free agent year, only had 15 snaps in that game. It's because he suffered a groin injury and we don't know about his status moving forward. Their starting cornerbacks in that game were Will Lee and Caleb Evans, who kind of a journeyman who just came from the Vikings. Will Lee, not a lot of experience. You got a rookie, Zaki Wheatley. You're playing at safety. Luther Ransom is another one.

18:16Ian Rapoport:I don't blame anyone if they're not familiar with these guys. We've got rookies. We've got guys who have barely played in the NFL And it takes you back to the Panthers preseason where they suffered so many injuries, especially on defense. And you do wonder if this team is going to be able to compete. And it does make you think when it comes to Todd Bowles, maybe he's right. Like, I don't know who's going to win this NFC South. I would put the Saints now as the favorites because this injury to JC Horn, and we'll see about Mike Jackson, is really, really impactful for them. Another team, not a lot of high expectations, the Miami Dolphins.

18:53Ian Rapoport:Ian and the other insiders reported Devon Achan is going to miss the season with a torn ACL. Absolutely brutal. We hinted at that overnight on the recap show, but we didn't know for sure. If you're in fantasy leagues, I think Jalen Wright actually might be the pickup. He missed week three, but he was the backup. He's a little more explosive than Ollie Gordon. Either way, those guys are going to split carries. I would pick up Jalen Wright. I will pick up Jalen Wright in one of my leagues because I could use a running back and you never know. But this has been the worst running team or close to it in terms of success rate, even with Devon Achan.

19:28Ian Rapoport:This is a team that's really not getting it done on either side of the ball. And the running back usually suffers in that situation. So sad news there for Devon Achan. Also sad to see that Jack Besch has a broken forearm. The Raiders wide receiver will be out. We'll see how long that takes. sometimes you can return within the same season. Sometimes it's a six to eight week injury. We will see. And we'll wrap up just by sending our thoughts to Leo Chanel, the Washington commanders linebacker. We talked about getting stretchered off the field. He suffered a fractured neck and that is one of the scariest, worst injuries you can possibly hear in football.

20:10Ian Rapoport:Jordan Schultz did report that he's expected to make a full recovery, whether that means playing football again. I don't know if that's what that means, but either way, he did have movement in his extremities. He is without question going to miss the rest of this season, and the commander's entire team is really banged up before heading to London, but we obviously hate to see all these injuries, but especially a serious one like that. We'll pop in occasionally on these Mondays when our great producer, Eric Roberts, lets me. I think he likes it. I think he likes to just work, work, work. He's an absolute grinder.

20:48Ian Rapoport:So we'll call that Daily Buzz. We'll do it on Mondays that makes sense. Like on Mondays where we see J.J. McCarthy traded to the Giants. We know we're seeing J.J. McCarthy this year, maybe sometime in prime time. Hit that music, Eric. Let's get out of here. It's going to be good for content. And you know what? The Giants are two and one. You never know. The schedule's pretty easy. They might stay in the mix for the rest of the year. You know who else is in the mix? Jordan Rodriguez and myself, we're coming back on this feed. Monday Night Football will be live on YouTube. You'll catch us in your ears after that.

21:19Ian Rapoport:Eagles and Bears.

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