The Giants had big plans and expectations for Xavier McKinney, which is why they drafted the safety near the top of the second round. They expected the rookie to start opposite Jabrill Peppers and become the play-maker their secondary sorely needs.
That’s out, at least for now, with the news that the 22-year-old McKinney will miss at least a few months after undergoing surgery on Wednesday to repair a fractured left foot. The Giants can replace him with the improving Julian Love, but they’ll still miss all the things they were expecting McKinney to do.
And that hurts, since the Giants’ secondary was already thin with the losses of cornerbacks DeAndre Baker, who was arrested for armed robbery, and Sam Beal, who chose to opt out of the season. Now it’s dangerously, and maybe devastatingly, thinner.
So what can the Giants do about it? Well, they couldn’t do much about their cornerback problem, but their options at safety might be a little better. Here’s a look at a few of the players available who could help patch up the hole left by McKinney. The options aren’t great, but if they’re interested at all, they better move quickly because the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, and possibly even the Dallas Cowboys are in the market for safety help, too:
Logan Ryan
Remember him? The Giants, like the Jets, looked at the veteran cornerback earlier, but it turns out the 29-year-old sees himself now as more of a safety. The Giants didn’t really need a safety before, but obviously they do now.
Ryan played for the Patriots from 2013-16, so Giants head coach Joe Judge knows what he can do, and he’s always been considered a high-character player, which will help. They certainly could use a veteran voice in a secondary that is very young.
The issue likely will be price. At first, Ryan was looking for $10 million per year and there’s no indication the Giants will be willing to pay a price like that. Since he’s still unemployed, maybe his price has dropped lower. If it’s dropped low enough, it makes sense for the Giants to bring him in.
Earl Thomas
He’s certainly the big name out there, after his stunning release from the Ravens. But there are a lot of issues with the veteran that make him seem like a terrible fit.
He’s 31 and seems to be on the downside of his career. Still good, of course, but not nearly what he once was.
And then there’s the baggage. He’s available because he punched one of his Ravens teammates during a training camp practice over a dispute about a broken play. Even more damning, the team leaders on the Ravens reportedly told the coaches they were fine with letting him go. The Giants are trying to build a new culture. Do they really want to bring in a high-profile guy with issues like that?