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Xavier McKinney dropped a proverbial hammer, but not because his left hand was too injured to grip it tightly.
Faced with a slew of questions Monday about his health after finishing last season by playing three games (two in the playoffs) with a wrapped splint to protect three broken fingers, McKinney set expectations that won’t change whether he decides to continue wearing extra protection or not.
“Either way, I’m going to play at a high level,” McKinney said, “and I’m going to leave it at that.”
McKinney missed seven games after he was involved in an ATV accident while vacationing in Cancun during the bye week.
He stayed local after the season ended to do “a tremendous amount of work and rehab” with trainers and joined teammates at the facility Monday for the first day of the Giants’ voluntary offseason program.
“I’m 100 percent, for sure. That wasn’t a ‘kind of’ thing. I know that,” McKinney said. “The games that I played with the cast, I was still able to make a huge impact.”
McKinney will have a new starting partner at safety — whether that’s free-agent addition Bobby McCain or a youngster like Jason Pinnock — after Julian Love signed with the Seahawks (two years, $12 million).
“It sucked to see [Love] go,” McKinney said. “We have a really good relationship, not just on the field but off the field, as well. I’m glad to see he got paid and I was happy for him. Our message to each other was just keep balling. The guys that we have here have already shown that we can step up.”
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Six weeks after Daniel Jones signed a four-year, $160 million contract ($92 million guaranteed), Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts blew that deal out of the water by signing an extension for five years and $255 million ($179.3 million guaranteed) that includes the largest maximum value in NFL history.
They will go head-to-head in the NFC East for the foreseeable future.
“He is a heck of a player, had a great season last year obviously and certainly deserves it,” Jones said. “I’m happy for him.”
McKinney, Hurts’ former college teammate at Alabama, echoed those sentiments.
The Giants went 1-5-1 against NFC East opponents during the 2022 regular season and playoffs, including three losses to the Eagles.
“We didn’t do that well in division play last year, so I think that’s something for us that’s going to be heavily emphasized,” McKinney said. “I don’t really see it as just one team that we need to be worried about. I think it’s all of the teams in our division.”
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The first two weeks of the offseason program is limited to strength and conditioning activities and a maximum of four hours per day at the facility, including no more than 90 minutes on the field.
Coaches cannot be on the field. Quarterbacks throwing to receivers without defensive coverage is the closest thing to live football.
Head coach Brian Daboll held a brief team meeting Monday to introduce the heads of supporting departments to players.
Offensive and defensive players met with their coordinators to talk “installs of core things.”
“Phase One is really about the physical part of it — getting quicker, faster, stronger,” Daboll said, “and then there’s a few little meetings here or there based on scheme.”
Daboll also emphasized getting newcomers — like tight end Darren Waller — situated in new surroundings.
“Daniel [Jones] right now isn’t necessarily where Darren is,” Daboll said, “and you’ve got to bridge that gap and you’ve got to start over with the basics.”