With a disappointing 6-11 season coming to an end and no playoff games to prepare for, Xavier McKinney caught up with his teammates Monday morning as the offseason begins, and finished cleaning out his locker while saying goodbye. I was just doing that.
McKinney, a fourth-year safety who just completed the final year of his rookie contract, reflected on his future as an unrestricted free agent before leaving, telling the Post: ”
The timing of McKinney, who is seeking a new lucrative contract, was sublime considering he completed two passes in Sunday's final game of the season against the Eagles at MetLife Stadium.
He spoke Monday like a player who knows he's going to get paid.
“I don't think there's anyone at the same level as me in terms of being able to do everything on the back end,” McKinney said. “I think a lot of security departments have things they're good at and things they're bad at. But in my case, if you look at my whole game and how I am, I do everything at a high level. can be very productive.
“I'm the most complete safety in this world, and it's about time I got some respect for that too. So I definitely believe I have the best safety in this league, and I'm going to continue to prove that.” Masu.”
McKinney's rookie contract was for four years and $8.4 million.
He is coming off a 2023 season in which he played every defensive snap, had three interceptions, one fumble forecast, two fumble recoveries and 116 tackles.
Chargers' Derwin James is the highest-paid safety in the NFL, making $19 million annually ($76 million over four years). Minkah Fitzpatrick of the Steelers is next with an annual salary of $18.24 million ($72.98 million over four years). Next is Seattle's Jamal Adams at $17.5 million (four years, $80 million), Atlanta's Jesse Bates III at $16 million (four years, $64.02 million), and Minnesota's Harrison Smith at $16 million (four years, $64 million). million dollars).
So we know what McKinney is looking for.
“I'm a top safety,” he said. “People try to act like I'm not. But when I turn on the tape, my tape is better than any tape out there right now. I feel like I haven't even touched the level or the surface of what's going to happen. I'm one of the premier safeties in this league, and it's time for that to be respected.”
McKinney is different from running back Saquon Barkley, who for the past two years has said publicly that he wants to stay with the Giants for life and was upset that the team was unsentimental and refused to sign him to a long-term contract.
When asked where he stands compared to his good friend Barkley, McKinney replied, “My position is business, business.”
McKinney said he “learned a lot” from his contract grievances with Barkley, adding, “All I can do is continue to do my part, stay consistent and make sure I get out there and be productive.” All you have to do is do it,” he added. Numbers and everything else, they never lie. ”
When asked about Sunday's game and its timing, he said: But it's part of my job, so it's no surprise to me. That's who I am and what I do. I've been doing that for a long time. ”
When asked if he thought McKinney had the same elite status as himself, Giants general manager Joe Schon said, “I'm not going to negotiate with myself and call him elite or how great he is.'' I'm not going to make any exaggerated statements about what's going on. But I like Xavier McKinney. He's been a good player since we've been here. He's young and he's played 100 percent of the snaps. , checked a lot of boxes. “He's a guy that we're obviously going to be talking about. He's got so many resources that we just have to figure out how to divide them up as we put the puzzle together in the offseason. Yes, he's obviously someone we'll be talking to.”
After Sunday's game, McKinney was asked about the possibility of a franchise tag (estimated at $17.2 million in 2024) and replied, “No comment.”
When Schoen was asked on Monday if that was a possibility, he replied: It's not something you want to use every year, but it's a tool you can have at your disposal. ”
