The NFL franchise tag deadline has come and gone, and the New York Giants made a tough decision. They decided to let safety Xavier McKinney test the open market, which many questioned considering his age and contributions to the team thus far in his career. Let’s dive into why they let him go and if there is any chance he will be a Giant again.
Xavier McKinney: Bring Him Back
The 24-year-old is one of the youngest safeties available on the open market. Drafted in the second round in the 2020 NFL Draft, he was one of the team’s captains this past year. After missing eight games in 2022, he played a full season in 2023 while recording 116 total tackles. More importantly, he recorded three interceptions and 11 pass deflections (both career highs).
PFF’s fourth-highest-graded safety was not placed on the transition tag (one-year, fully guaranteed salary of the average of the top 10 player salaries at the tagged player’s position) before the deadline. It’s for good reason, as doing so would lead to the Giants not receiving any compensation picks if another team decided to offer him a deal and the Giants could not match it.
The confusing part? New York has so many issues to address, they most likely will be active in the free agent market. This is relevant because if they bring in roster reinforcements, they wouldn’t be able to receive any compensatory pick even if they lose McKinney.
So, the Giants should have figured out a way to bring the safety back, right? Well, the safety market has been absolutely wild recently. During these past few days, guys like Jamal Adams, Justin Simmons, Jordan Poyer, and Quandre Diggs hit the free-agent market.
So, Now What?
There’s still hope the Giants and McKinney can get a deal done. But, letting him test the waters in free agency is a bad idea, considering he’s one of the youngest guys on the market who is a big contributor and impactful when he is on the field.
He can talk to other teams starting on Monday.
We’ve had talks, trying to figure something out,” McKinney said. “I’m just pretty much being as open as I can. I’ve expressed it as much as I can that I wanted to be back, but ultimately it’s not all up to me. We have to come to a mutual agreement. Hopefully we can get something done, but I know it’s business.
Xavier McKinney on talks between him and the Giants on contract extensions
Bring him back, Joe Schoen.
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Featured Image: Cooper Neill/Getty Images
