Giants Elevate Jake Haener, Trace Ford for Cardinals Game
Coach John Harbaugh has not named Jameis Winston's backup since the Giants acquired J.J. McCarthy on Monday.
The Giants elevated quarterback Jake Haener and outside linebacker Trace Ford from the practice squad Saturday for Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals.
Both were standard practice-squad elevations, so each reverts to the practice squad on the first business day after the game without going through waivers.
The Giants have not said who will back up Jameis Winston. They acquired J.J. McCarthy from the Minnesota Vikings on Monday for a 2027 fifth-round pick, and coach John Harbaugh said that day the No. 2 quarterback "could be Jake or it could be J.J." Asked Friday whether McCarthy would be the third quarterback, Harbaugh said, "We're not announcing any of that right now."
The Athletic's Dan Duggan wrote on X that the elevations line up "for Haener to be QB2," with McCarthy as the emergency third quarterback. ESPN's Jordan Raanan also wrote that McCarthy has had little time to learn the playbook since the trade.
Haener was signed to the 53-man roster from the practice squad before last week's 12-7 win over Tennessee, then waived Monday and re-signed to the practice squad Wednesday. Saturday's move is Ford's first elevation this season.
The Giants' inactive list is due before Sunday's 1 p.m. kickoff.