Safety Xavier McKinney is a key part of the New York Giants defense.
Before the Giants had their bye week, McKinney had recorded 37 tackles.
Then, during the bye week, McKinney injured his hand during an ATV incident while on vacation in Cabo.
At the time, McKinney was ruled out for the Giants’ next four games, which were against Houston, Detroit, Dallas, and Washington.
The Giants went 1-2-1 during that period, with the team showing problems on both sides of the ball.
Today, we got an update on McKinney”s situation.
Xavier McKinney had the pins taken out of his injured hand, per Brian Daboll. But still a ways to go before he can play.
Daboll expressed uncertainty on when or if McKinney plays this year.
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) December 8, 2022
Out For The Year?
Giants head coach Brian Daboll said today that McKinney has had the pins taken out of his hand.
Good news for Giants fans.
But Daboll then expressed doubt about when McKinney could return this season.
There is even a possibility that McKinney does not return for the rest of the season.
This would leave a hole in the Giants’ defense, which they have struggled to fill over the past few weeks when McKinney was out.
If McKinney is out for the rest of the season, this will have an impact on the team’s playoff chances.
As we have seen in the last few weeks, the Giants have struggled on defense, conceding more points on average than the games where McKinney was playing.
While this does not mean that McKinney’s performance is the sole force moving the defense, nor does it excuse the offense from their lack of scoring recently, it is interesting to note that when McKinney plays, the Giants seem to win.
If McKinney is out for the season, the rest of the defense needs to step up and fill his place.
NEXT: 2 Reasons The Giants Will Most Likely Miss The Playoffs