Xavier McKinney (29), a safety for the New York Giants, intercepts a ball intended for Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson on September 10, 2023, during an NFL game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.(Bryan Woolston/AP Photo)
Xavier McKinney can’t enter a race that has already begun; he has to wait until next week.
McKinney is set to become an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday at 3 p.m. CDT after the New York Giants declined to use their franchise tag or transition tag on the former Alabama defensive back. The Giants will have an exceptionally strong group of available safeties when McKinney signs a contract extension before then.
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Eddie Jackson, another former Alabama defensive back, was dismissed by the Chicago Bears last month in order to save salary cap space.
Starting safety Rayshawn Jenkins, Justin Simmons, Jamal Adams, Quandre Diggs, Jordan Poyer, and Kevin Byard have all been released for the same reason in the last week.
According to overthecap.com, the salary-cap savings for 2024 achieved by the safeties’ release this offseason have amounted to $103.25 million.
During an appearance on FanDuel TV’s “Up and Adams” on Thursday, McKinney stated, “I honestly don’t know what’s going on with just kind of the league in general with the whole safety thing and everybody getting released.” “I find it a little bit mind-boggling, especially considering the league’s current transformation into a passing league.” I’ve been kind of seeing these DBs—star safeties, star corners, guys—be released over the last few days.
It doesn’t really make sense, but I’m not sure what’s going on. You require a star safety right now. A man who can cover these tight ends and receivers is what you need.
Together, Jackson, Byard, Adams, Diggs, Poyer, and Simmons have been selected for five first-team All-Pro teams and 13 Pro Bowls.
McKinney declared, “I do think I am the best one out of all of these guys, regardless of who is in that bracket.”
Although he played all 1,128 defensive snaps for New York in the 2023 season and finished with 116 tackles, three interceptions, and 11 passes defensed, McKinney has not been named an All-Pro or Pro Bowl player. In 2023, only three other players in the NFL achieved those numbers in those three stats: Atlanta
