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.

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?