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Blitz-happy Bobby McCain eager to play in Wink Martindale's system

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Five days after Julian Love departed as a free agent, the Giants signed his likely replacement.

Bobby McCain, a versatile defensive back entering his ninth NFL season, yesterday joined the Giants after spending the last two seasons in the NFC East with Washington. Although he has 41 career starts at cornerback, including one in the postseason, as well as one at linebacker and another as an extra defensive back, McCain will play next to Xavier McKinney in the back of Wink Martindale's defense.

McCain has started 45 games at safety, 22 of them in his two seasons in Washington.

"I'll be playing safety here," McCain said on an introductory Zoom call with reporters. "I'll be looking to be the guy. I'm coming here to play. I'm coming here to compete. And I'm coming here to win."

View the best photos of new Giants safety Bobby McCain.

McCain craves more team success. He played on just one playoff team in his first eight seasons, and that was 2016 in Miami. The Dolphins lost an AFC Wild Card Game by 18 points in Pittsburgh.

McCain joins a Giants team that won a Wild Card game last season and finished 9-7-1, a game ahead of the Commanders.

The two teams met twice in December. In their 20-20 tie in MetLife Stadium, McCain started at free safety and had five tackles (four solo), including one for loss. Two weeks later, he opened the game at cornerback and led Washington with 11 tackles (nine solo) and forced a fourth quarter Daniel Jones fumble that the quarterback recovered. The Giants won, 20-12.

In the 2021 season finale against the Giants, McCain intercepted two passes, including one he returned 30 yards for a touchdown.

"Definitely competitive games," McCain said. "We knew the games were going to be tough every time we played the Giants, especially this past year. You could tell things were a little bit different. Especially this past year, things were definitely different. I'm excited to just be here and compete. You can feel the competitive nature when you walk in the building, so I'm just excited to be here."

He is particularly eager to play in Martindale's defense, which received enthusiastic reviews from the players in his debut season with the Giants.

"Just his scheme and just watching over the years being here or Baltimore (appealed to him)," McCain said. "And just understanding what he likes to do, what he likes – to bring pressure – how he does it. He plays with DBs on the field. You can't complain if you're a DB in this defense."

McCain, who has 11 career interceptions, also has 4.0 sacks and eight quarterback hits, stats he'd like to augment with the Giants.

"I like to blitz," said McCain, who has 381 career tackles (292 solo). "I can do it all. I can cover, blitz. You name it, I can do it."

McCain also looks forward to lining up next to McKinney, who enters his fourth season as one of the NFL's best young safeties.

"There's things that we can both help each other with – whether it's on the field, off the field," McCain said. "I know he's a really good player. He's going to continue being a good player in this league. And just us being able to communicate, we've already been in contact and been in touch. And us being able to communicate will help each other, and it'll help us go a long way.

"He goes and gets the football. That's the most important thing out there is the pigskin. He goes, he finds the ball. And the ball finds him."

Love had a breakout season in 2022, when he led the Giants with 116 tackles, tied for the team lead with two interceptions, and was a team captain. McCain will be asked to fill the voids in both on-field production and leadership.

"I wouldn't necessarily see it as a challenge - I just see it as an opportunity," he said. "You come in, just be yourself. I'm just going to come in, be myself, be who I am – the guy that I am. Just being yourself will take you a long way, and the guys will respect it in the locker room."

Which can only be good news for the Giants.

View photos of every move made by the Giants during the 2023 cycle.

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