J.J. McCarthy’s next jersey number with the Giants is suddenly one of the first little mysteries around his move to New York.
The quarterback arrives after the Vikings trade, and the biggest question hanging over his first days with the Giants isn’t about playbook fit or depth-chart chaos. It’s what he’ll put on his back when he takes the field.
McCarthy has long been tied to No. 9 - the number he wore at Michigan and in Minnesota, and the one he once said was connected to his alter ego, Nine. But that option is already gone, with tight end Isaiah Likely holding it.
A few other familiar choices are off the board too. Jaxson Dart wears No.
6, Jameis Winston has No. 19, and that narrows the realistic pool down to 0-5 and 7-18. Quarterbacks aren’t supposed to go above 19, though the source notes the jersey rules have shifted enough that the old boundaries may not feel quite as fixed as they used to.
That still leaves McCarthy with a handful of open possibilities. Among the available numbers are 4, 7, 10, 11, 14, 16 and 18, though No. 10 - Eli Manning’s old number - has not been worn since he retired, so it feels unlikely to be the pick.
The strongest candidate may be No. 18, which just opened up after Jake Haener was waived. The logic is simple enough: one plus eight equals nine.
If McCarthy wants something a little cleaner, 4 or 7 are also sitting there. For now, though, the Giants’ newest quarterback has given everyone a jersey-number watch to keep an eye on, and the wait is still on.
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Giants Ended The Odell Beckham Jr. Reunion For One Roster Reason
Odell Beckham Jr.s second stint with the Giants ended just three weeks after it began, with the veteran wide receiver being released after a quiet return to the roster. Beckham appeared in three games and was on the field for 19 snaps, but he did not record a reception during his brief run back in New York.
The move came on the heels of a recent trade and after the Giants picked up a Week 3 win, a sign the front office was willing to keep adjusting the roster rather than hold onto the reunion for nostalgia alone. Beckhams return always carried the pull of unfinished business, but the Giants decided they needed the spot for something else. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Just Made An Odell Beckham Decision That Changes Their WR Room
Odell Beckham Jr.s second stint with the Giants has ended before it ever really had a chance to settle in, with the veteran wideout reportedly being released after a limited role through the first part of the season. Signed back this summer, Beckham was mostly used as a decoy and blocker in his brief run, a reminder of how far his return had drifted from the big-picture reunion many around the team once imagined.
For New York, the move leaves the receiver room leaner and a little more defined, with only three wideouts now on the 53-man roster. Beckham is expected to look elsewhere rather than land on the Giants practice squad, so this now becomes one more roster reset for a team still sorting out how it wants to piece together its passing game moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Vikings Just Reopened A Kevin OConnell Problem Fans Know Too Well
Kevin OConnells tenure in Minnesota has been defined by a familiar kind of churn, the sort that can make even a winning record feel a little unstable. In his fifth season as head coach, the Vikings have kept cycling through starting quarterbacks, including the decision to trade their 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy to the Giants, while still trying to settle on a long-term answer under center.
The bigger issue is the one Vikings fans know too well: all the regular-season progress in the world has not yet turned into a playoff breakthrough. The cases of Kirk Cousins and Sam Darnold sit at the center of that frustration, a reminder that quarterback planning in Minnesota has been difficult to sustain and even harder to finish, and the latest move only brings that old problem back into focus. [Read more 🡒]