When the call came there was no time to relocate the family, and so J.J. McCarthy quickly picked up, left the Minneapolis area and headed to New Jersey, leaving behind his wife, Katya, and their 1-year old son, Rome.
That was Sept. 29. More than a month later, the Giants hit their bye week and McCarthy was reunited with his family. Rome was walking — sort of — the last time J.J. saw him but is motoring around at a faster pace now.
“I would say it was stumbling-slash-controlled falling when I left and now he’s walking backwards and showing off a little bit and running,’’ McCarthy told The Post after Wednesday’s practice. “A lot has changed. It’s just amazing, the personality and how much they grow into their own sense of being. It’s really cool.’’
This was a big day for the 23-year old Giants quarterback.
His wife and son officially moved into their New Jersey apartment and they will be together for the remainder of the season.
As McCarthy prepares for his second start with his new team — his debut was sensational — and works toward keeping the Giants in first place in the NFC East, he believes having those closest to him now with him will make him an even more complete person, and player.
“Tremendously,’’ he said. “The true reason why you do it is for your loved ones. Obviously for the love of the game. You want to strive for greatness every single day and all that, but every time you go home and you see your kid and you see your wife, you realize the bigger purpose.
“I’m just so grateful to be able to come home and have food on the table, little things like that.’’
The next task is an interesting one.
The Giants (4-2-1) take a 13-game losing streak at Lincoln Financial Field into Sunday’s game against the sagging Eagles (2-6). What a whirlwind it has been for McCarthy.
He is 1-0 with his new team and was so impressive in beating the Texans in Houston that the entire franchise was energized by his performance, offering hope that there is life this season without injured Jaxson Dart. The blue wave of enthusiasm is premature, of course, but that is the way it goes in the week-by-week NFL cycle.
The crash course McCarthy undertook got him ready to play once head coach John Harbaugh decided to put Jameis Winston on the bench after his four starts. McCarthy handled the offense fairly flawlessly, with no turnovers or procedural mishaps as he completed 20 of 28 passes for 252 yards, making some highly impressive throws.
Then he got some time off to take a breath.
“Yeah, the bye week came at a great time,’’ McCarthy said. “I definitely feel caught up completely with our offense and the intent behind every single play. And that’s a credit to all the guys in the room with me, all the coaches, and everyone on this team. They’ve helped me out so much, and I’m extremely blessed to be able to take advantage of this downtime that we had and really work on the mental game and make sure we’re caught up and definitely feel like I’m in a really good spot in terms of operating this offense.’’
He is further along with the playbook and his familiarity with his teammates, which should help.
“I would say he’s at the stage now where he’s pretty much caught up, at least in terms of anything we’d be doing in the game plan,’’ coach John Harbaugh said. “He’ll be as fully prepared as any quarterback at this stage.’’
McCarthy was 27-1 as a starter at Michigan and he is no stranger to hostile road environments.
This will be his first taste of the heated Giants-Eagles rivalry and his first NFL game at the notorious Linc, where the Giants have not won since 2013, losing 13 straight.
“I’m definitely honored to be a New York Football Giant and everything that comes with it, this division, these rivalry games,’’ McCarthy said. “Yeah, it’s going to be a lot of fun.’’
McCarthy is heartened that he no longer has to figure out when to FaceTime his wife to get to see Rome before bedtime. J.J. has been with Katya since he was 15 years old and being apart was difficult. Now they are together again.
“She’s been the ultimate supporter,’’ McCarthy said. “We’ve gone through a lot these last 2 ¹/₂ years and we’ve learned a lot together and grew a lot together. It’s exciting to get into a routine and hit this thing running. It fills your heart in the best way.’’
