The New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings happened to both acquire players from the other team in the past week, somewhat coincidentally. First off, the Giants traded for Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy last week amidst the team's quarterback struggles with Jaxson Dart likely out for the season.
A day after picking up McCarthy, New York released veteran receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who was just starting out in his second stint with the Giants. He was only targeted once in the first three games. Then, on Wednesday, the Vikings happened to sign Beckham to their practice squad.
The Vikings mark the sixth team Beckham's played for in his rollercoaster of a career. He typically sports the No. 13 on his jersey, but he won't have the opportunity to do that in Minnesota as receiver Tai Felton already has the number. Luckily for Beckham, a jersey number just recently became vacated: McCarthy's No. 9.
So, Beckham will wear No. 9 on the Vikings. This will be the first time in his career in which he's worn the No. 9, so it's unclear if there's any significant meaning behind it, or if he just accepted the number because it was available. It would've been serendipity if McCarthy would've been given No. 13 on the Giants — a jersey swap of sorts.
McCarthy is sporting No. 18 instead of nine with the Giants since tight end Isaiah Likely already wears No. 9. The Giants also quickly gave away Beckham's No. 13 to backup quarterback Jake Haener. It's the third number Haener's sported since August as he previously wore No. 12 and 18.
Haener sits as the third-string quarterback behind starter Jameis Winston and backup McCarthy.
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