J.J. McCarthy is officially entering a new chapter in his NFL career.
During the 2025 season, McCarthy was asked about the intensity he plays with once an NFL game kicks off. The former Michigan star told Minnesota Vikings reporters that he’s got an aggressive side to him that he nicknamed “Nine.”
“I call him Nine,” McCarthy said. “Nine comes out and I gotta understand, like, OK, he can’t be at his peak performance throughout three-and-a-half hours. So how do I find little ways on the sideline, get back to my breath, get back to my visualization, that can kind of maintain that intense, competitive stamina throughout the whole game? It’s just the pure will, determination to get the job done.”
McCarthy had a lackluster 2025 season, completing 57.6% of his passes for 1,632 yards with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He was ultimately replaced by Kyler Murray this past offseason.
Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images.
On Monday afternoon, the Vikings finally pulled the plug on McCarthy and traded him to the New York Giants for a 2027 fifth-round pick.
It was revealed Tuesday that McCarthy has been assigned No. 18 for this season. His usual No. 9 is currently being worn by Isaiah Likely.
Barring a sudden change in New York, the “Nine” era is over.
Will the Giants start J.J. McCarthy?
As of this moment, Jameis Winston remains the starting quarterback for the Giants. Make no mistake though, John Harbaugh is excited about adding McCarthy to his quarterback room.
“Really glad, really happy, very excited to add J.J. McCarthy,” said Harbaugh. “I think he’s a strong, young quarterback, has some experience in National Football League. Obviously, was a very high draft pick, very talented player and is going to make us a stronger football team. So, excited about it, think it makes us better and get him in here as soon as we can. Get to work on learning the offense. Obviously, that’s going to be a challenge, but we’ll go to work on that and that’s where we’re at.”
The Giants may want to give McCarthy a few weeks to learn Matt Nagy’s offensive system before starting him at quarterback.
