When safety Bobby McCain signed with the Giants in March, the intention of the transaction was clear.
He became the favorite, at least on paper, to replace Julian Love, who departed for the Seahawks in free agency.
He was “looking to be the guy,” he said in a press conference snippet that captured McCain’s lofty desire to become a core piece of the Giants’ defense.
McCain’s eight years of NFL experience matched the rest of their safeties combined too.
But three weeks into training camp, McCain’s window of opportunity to plug Love’s vacancy and start alongside Xavier McKinney has already begun closing.
It might’ve slammed shut altogether across the past five days.
Jason Pinnock produced a viral interception and snagged another in the preseason opener, while Dane Belton had a pick-six against Daniel Jones on Monday in addition to his interception during the Giants’ loss to the Lions and his strip of David Montgomery during a joint practice.
McCain told The Post he “definitely” expected this level of competition after signing with the Giants.
But the flip side of Pinnock’s emergence and Belton’s recent surge is that McCain, the veteran signed to stabilize the position, is now likely fighting for a spot as the third safety.
“Competition all throughout the room,” McCain told The Post on Monday. “We got good players in the room, and no one should go anywhere not wanting to play.”
Still, McCain thought he had a “strong showing” against the Lions, compiling the third-most tackles on the Giants with five.
The key to emerging from a training camp with a new team is all about first impressions, McCain said.
When the Dolphins released him after six years and he signed with Washington in 2021, he needed to do the same with the Commanders and defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio.
The Commanders relied on more zone coverage and zone pressure — compared to the principles, and the frequent blitzing, of Wink Martindale’s Giants system — and McCain adapted, grabbing four interceptions his first year with the team.
Pinnock said the defensive backs can gather “a lot of knowledge” from McCain, who already understands NFC East opponents from his Commanders tenure.
It doesn’t alter the emerging reality, though.
Even if there’s still time left in training camp for something to change — and even if there’s competition “everywhere in the league,” as Pinnock said — a role that seemed so certain for McCain has instead become a bit of a mystery.
“In the [safety] room, we’re all just competing and coming out every day trying to get better,” McCain said. “Learning the playbook with a new scheme and everything, just trying to perfect the craft each and every day. So that’s really where my head is.”
