Xavier McKinney Hopeful of Giants Return amid Contract Talks Ahead of 2024 NFL FA

Safety Xavier McKinney expressed his desire to return to the New York Giants before he's set to hit free agency next week.

"We've had talks, trying to figure something out," McKinney said on Up & Adams (h/t Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk). "I'm just pretty much being as open as I can. I've expressed it as much as I can that I wanted to be back, but ultimately it's not all up to me. We have to come to a mutual agreement. Hopefully we can get something done, but I know it's business."

The 24-year-old was selected by the Giants in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft, spending all four years of his career in New York.

The front office chose not to apply the transition tag worth just over $13.8 million to McKinney, which would have allowed the team to match any contract offer that he signed with another team in free agency. Instead, New York is eligible to receive a compensatory draft pick if the safety goes somewhere else.

It appears that there's mutual interest in agreeing to a new contract, although no deal is in place yet. Giants general manager Joe Schoen praised the former Alabama standout when speaking to reporters at the scouting combine.

"Xavier is another player that we'd like to have back," Schoen said, via Dan Salomone of the team's official website. "He's 24 years old, he was a captain, played 100 percent of the snaps. We think a lot of [Xavier] and look forward to getting to the negotiation period here later this week."

Despite playing on a Giants secondary that allowed 229.3 yards per game in 2023, McKinney arguably wrapped up his best season in the league. Pro Football Focus gave him a remarkable 87.8 grade for his efforts, allowing just 33 receptions on 54 targets.

He started in all 17 games, while his 11 passes defensed and 78 solo tackles both represented career-high marks.