The final games of a losing season are about different things to different players and, for those on expiring contracts, it is often about the impending reality that these are their last games in a certain uniform.
Is that the case with Xavier McKinney and the Giants?
It certainly could be.
The 24-year-old safety should be ascending and entering the prime of his career, but he might be heading elsewhere, even though he and inside linebacker Bobby Okereke have proven to be invaluable pieces to the Giants’ defensive puzzle, never, ever coming off the field.
Both players have logged 1,001 snaps this season, 100 percent of the Giants’ defensive snaps.
Unless there is a tweak or an injury, McKinney will not come off the field Sunday, when the Giants face the red-hot Rams at MetLife Stadium.
The Rams, surging with wins in five of their last six games, are 8-7 and currently the No. 6 seed in the NFC playoff bracket.
The Giants, back down to earth with back-to-back losses, are 5-10 and will see their consecutive-season playoff run ended at one year.
McKinney has his hand in almost everything for the Giants on defense, which is why it is difficult to envision the unit moving on without him, especially after another starting safety, Julian Love, exited in free agency last offseason to sign with the Seahawks.
The decision, as is almost always the case, will come down to dollars and sense.
McKinney, graded as the No. 11 safety in the league by Pro Football Focus, will want big bucks.
The 2024 franchise tag for a safety projects to between $16 million and $17 million, and that is not a salary the Giants have in mind for McKinney.
There have been bumps in the road but McKinney is playing the best ball of his career since he arrived as a 2020 second-round pick from Alabama.
He missed nearly half the season in 2022 after an all-terrain vehicle accident while vacationing in Mexico during the bye week caused serious damage to the fingers on his left hand.
This season, he criticized the communication with the defensive coaching staff following the Week 9 loss in Las Vegas, a comment that caught the attention and the ire of defensive coordinator Wink Martindale.
After that, McKinney said he was done talking with the media, a stance he has since shed.
He prefers not to project what might or might not happen with him, as far as his future with the Giants, but is adamant that he is focused on finishing strong as he prepares to miss out on the playoffs for the third time in his four years.
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“For me, and I think for us as a team, I’ve been with this group for four years, obviously there are some different faces but for the most part the core guys have still been here,’’ McKinney told The Post. “We got a scrappy group, we got a group that regardless of situation, regardless of where they place the ball, regardless of our record, we’re gonna always have an identity of how we play.
“We know we got eliminated but we’re still going out there to play for something. We’re still trying to win these last two games. Whatever we can do to go out there and still put it out on tape, still play hard, still give maximum effort and make plays, that’s what we’re gonna do.’’
That coach Brian Daboll has shuffled the deck at quarterback, benching rookie Tommy DeVito for veteran Tyrod Taylor, has little bearing on McKinney’s marching orders.
No matter if it is DeVito, Taylor or Daniel Jones at quarterback, the Giants struggle to score and the defense is under extreme pressure, rarely playing with a lead, rarely able to give up points and not having those points contribute to another defeat.
The Giants average 14.3 points a game, and only the Patriots (14.1) are more feeble.
McKinney has no control over any of that.
He is tied for the league lead among safeties with five games with 10 or more tackles.
He is sixth among all safeties with a career-high 104 tackles.
He has two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble, protecting the deep half of the field.
“We’re still a brotherhood,’’ McKinney said. “We’re still a family and we’re never gonna be a selfish group, we never have been that so we’re just gonna keep playing as a unit and trying to string together some good performances.’’