Xavier McKinney Plans to Test Free-agent Market

McKinney is seeking a hefty pay-day in free agency commensurate with his belief that he's "the most complete safety" about to enter free agency.

New York Giants safety Xavier McKinney is about to head into free agency this off-season and has his sights squarely set on landing a lucrative, multiyear deal.

New York Giants safety Xavier McKinney is about to head into free agency this off-season and has his sights set on landing a lucrative, multiyear deal.

Rightfully so. McKinney, who in the three years prior had missed chunks of two of those seasons, not only played every single snap for the Giants this season, but he arguably had his best campaign, setting or matching career highs in pass breakups (11), total tackles (116), tackles for loss (2), and forced fumbles (1).

All of that has given McKinney the confidence to believe that a nice payday awaits him. However, whether that deal will be with the Giants remains to be seen, but the odds of that happening right now appear to be slim.

“I mean, I can’t really — I can tell you, but I can’t really control nothing,” McKinney said after the Giants beat the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2023 regular-season finale Sunday. “It’s a business at the end of the day, so I just got to be where my feet are, be present, and that’s really about it.”

McKinney has made no secret about feeling disrespected by the Giants, this going back to the start of the 2023 season in which he watched teammates like left tackle Andrew Thomas and defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence rewarded with contract extensions before their rookie deals expired. 

When it came to McKinney, general manager Joe Schoen came right out and said there were no plans to extend McKinney before the start of the 2023 season, an action that no doubt stuck in McKinney's craw.

With the 2023 season in the books, McKinney, who thinks of himself as the "most complete safety out there" and who continues to jockey for the respect he feels he deserves, is planning to test the market, he confirmed via his X (formerly known as Twitter) account.

This is non-fiction . Not fiction 🦍 https://t.co/oWdoLrInyr

— Xavier McKinney (@mckinney15__) January 10, 2024

Whether McKinney gets that respect from the Giants--assuming he even takes their calls--is another story. The Giants have plenty of roster needs to fill that are looming large, such as quarterback, offensive line edge rusher, wide receiver No. 1, and defensive line.

The Giants currently have $33,018,875 in total cap space, $17,235,328 of which is their effective space, which they can devote to filling some of their roster holes. The team is expected to clear more space this off-season, but the extra space might not be enough to give McKinney a lucrative contract.

They also have Dane Belton under contract. Belton, who stepped in for Jason Pinnock after his foot injury landed him on IR, was a fourth-round pick by the Giants in the 2022 draft who played well in his expanded action during the last two weeks of the season.

Belton recorded two interceptions for 22 yards, two pass breakups, one fumble recovery, two tackles for loss, and eight tackles in the last two weeks of the season after stepping in for Pinnock.

While not quite the same player as McKinney, Belton has shown that he can step in at both safety spots, including playing coverage, where he has a career 68.5 coverage rating.

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