J.J. McCarthy joins the Giants with an unclear path to being their starting quarterback

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — J.J. McCarthy took the field with the New York Giants on Wednesday in his new No. 18 jersey, practicing for the first time since getting traded from Minnesota.

When he gets into a game is anyone's guess.

Coach John Harbaugh has said repeatedly that Jameis Winston will start at quarterback Sunday against Arizona. The big question now is how long Winston will remain in that role.

Giving up a fifth-round pick after losing Jaxson Dart and linebacker Brian Burns to season-ending knee injuries suggests the coaching staff and front office believe McCarthy can make a difference. They're not tipping their hand on how soon that might be.

“It’s been good to get him here,” Harbaugh said. “I’m excited about it. It’s an opportunity. ... And who knows where it goes or where it doesn’t go.”

Winston was 14 of 22 for 118 yards in a 12-7 defeat of Tennessee, his first start in place of Dart. The Giants had 238 total yards with no touchdowns, winning after rookie kicker Dominic Zvada made four field goals and safety Jevon Holland intercepted Cam Ward in the end zone in the final minute.

“Jameis did what he needed to do to win the last game,” Harbaugh said. “That’s really all that matters. I’m not getting caught up in all the other stuff. Our time is on the Arizona Cardinals. That’s who we spend our time on. That’s what we’re getting ready for.”

McCarthy was acquired less than 24 hours after the Titans game. Asked if he felt challenged or disrespected by New York adding another QB, Winston responded that he feels “challenged to get better every single day."

“I have to play well regardless,” Winston said. “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, and that’s just the business that we’re in.”

McCarthy was not made available to reporters. Each week, the Giants have their head coach and starting quarterback speak at a lectern on Wednesday, along with the locker room being open.

Harbaugh has not said whether McCarthy or Jake Haener, who is on the practice squad, will back up Winston. New teammates are spending time this week getting to know McCarthy beyond what they've seen and heard about the 2024 No. 10 overall pick.

“I didn’t know much about J.J.,” tight end Isaiah Likely said Tuesday on a video call with reporters. “Obviously know that he was drafted high, winning quarterback, won when he was at Michigan. Tough runner, tough player.”

McCarthy in 10 NFL starts with the Vikings ran 37 times for 181 yards and four touchdowns. He threw for 10 TDs and 11 interceptions.

The Giants have not scored a touchdown since Winston stepped in when Dart was injured early in what became a 28-6 loss at the Los Angeles Rams. The 33-year-old put that performance in the rearview mirror and expressed pride in managing the game against the Titans without turning the ball over.

“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.”

A day after releasing fan favorite receiver Odell Beckham Jr., Harbaugh said the Giants “just weren’t getting enough.” Beckham was thrown at just once through three games with zero catches.

“It wasn’t working for us,” Harbaugh said. “We didn’t think it would make us better, or we’d have had him on the field. That’s really the end of the conversation.”

Harbaugh insisted it was a football-only decision to part ways with Beckham.

“There’s no conspiracy theory,” he said. “I’m not kidding. I’m not hiding anything. It’s not Watergate.”

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New York Giants' quarterback J.J. McCarthy, right, looks on as quarterback Jameis Winston, left, throws during a practice at the team's NFL football facilities in East Rutherford, N.J., Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Giants quarterback Jameis Winston (19 looks to throw a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

New York Giants' quarterback J.J. McCarthy, right, talks with Jake Haener during a practice at the team's NFL football facilities in East Rutherford, N.J., Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Giants' quarterback J.J. McCarthy (18) practices at the team's NFL football facilities in East Rutherford, N.J., Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

New York Giants' quarterbacks J.J. McCarthy, right, and Jameis Winston talk during a practice at the team's NFL football facilities in East Rutherford, N.J., Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

BUTEMBO, Congo (AP) — Mourners gathered Wednesday to bury a Congolese politician who was beaten to death after publicly defending the government’s response to Ebola, a killing that highlights the mistrust health workers say is hampering efforts to slow the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history.

Marie-Célestin Karondwa, a local official with Congo’s ruling Union for Democracy and Social Progress party, was attacked Sunday at his home in Butembo, an Ebola hotspot in the eastern North Kivu province, after defending the government’s response efforts during a radio program, the party said.

“They beat him up and then set the house alight,” Sagesse Kavira, Karondwa’s granddaughter, told The Associated Press at his funeral on Wednesday. He later died from his injuries at a local hospital.

The killing follows a series of attacks on health workers and other responders as the Central African nation battles its 17th and deadliest Ebola outbreak, which has so far recorded over 8,000 cases including nearly 4,000 deaths.

Authorities this month launched a village-centered approach to fight the Ebola outbreak. But those efforts continue to face resistance from some residents who dismiss Ebola as a hoax amid a widespread distrust in the country’s government for various reasons, ranging from how it’s managed past Ebola outbreaks to chronic corruption.

Responders say skepticism about the disease has complicated efforts to work with residents, including in remote communities and emerging hot spots that already face shortages of medical supplies and healthcare workers.

The mistrust is particularly difficult to overcome in eastern Congo's rebel-controlled territories, where decades of conflict with rebels as well as human rights abuses have left many residents wary of outsiders and state authorities.

The local politician killed in Butembo had been using the radio show to call on the public to obey response measures, particularly social distancing and handwashing, Jean-Baptiste Katsongo Lwatswa, first federal vice-president of UDPS in Butembo, told the AP.

“That is believed to have provoked the anger of certain young people,” he said.

Enoch Muhindo Balimatangi, a resident of Butembo, said there's fear and mixed feelings about Ebola among locals. "Some say that the illness exists, while others refuse to accept that it does. That’s frightening!” he said.

A key challenge in slowing this particular outbreak is the absence of approved vaccines or treatments for the rare Bundibugyo virus that is causing it. Clinical trials for those are currently ongoing in Ituri province, the epicenter.

In its latest situation report, the World Health Organization warned the disease remains serious and there are “persistent challenges in timely case detection and access to early and adequate patient care.”

WHO has also said the outbreak continues to outpace efforts to track and slow it, and is on track to exceed the deadliest on record, West Africa’s regional outbreak between 2014 and 2016, which killed 11,000 people.

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Brennan reported from Dakar, Senegal. Justin Kabumba in Goma, Congo, contributed.

For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse

The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Butembo, Congo on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Sebastien Kitsa Musayi)

People walk along a street in Butembo, Congo, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Sebastien Kitsa Musayi)

Sagesse Kavira, the daughter of Marie-Célestin Karondwa, a local official who was beaten to death after publicly defending the government's response to Ebola, in Butembo, Congo, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Sebastien Kitsa Musayi)

The burned home of Marie-Célestin Karondwa, a local official who was beaten to death after publicly defending the government's response to Ebola, in Butembo, Congo, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Sebastien Kitsa Musayi)

People walk past a banner with a photo of Marie-Célestin Karondwa, a local official who was beaten to death after publicly defending the government's response to Ebola, in Butembo, Congo, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Sebastien Kitsa Musayi)

A healthcare worker speaks to Ebola patients inside a treatment center in Beni, North Kivu province, eastern Congo, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Sebastien Kitsa Musayi)