exclusive New York Giants Insiders tell The Post how J.J. McCarthy can make the most of his Giants chance By Ryan Dunleavy Published Sep. 29, 2026, 9:07 p.m. ET J.J. McCarthy is getting a chance for a fresh start with the Giants. Getty Images Isaiah Likely wears No. 9 for the Giants, and that might be the best thing that could happen to J.J. McCarthy.
Not only is McCarthy getting a fresh start with a new team after his trade from the Vikings, he also is getting a clean break from the “Nine” alter ego that he created in Minnesota to explain his game-day intensity and viral mean mugging … and then was mocked for when he became a first-round draft-bust and third-stringer.
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The Giants traded a fifth-round pick for McCarthy, whom they met with multiple times before the 2024 draft but passed on despite wanting a quarterback.
Two years, a John Harbaugh hiring and only 10 starts (6-4) later for the injury-plagued McCarthy, is there enough upside to be worth the risk of trying to salvage his talent?
