TOUCH BREAK
McKinney fractures foot in big blow to Giants 'D'
The Giants’ already-decimated secondary took another significant hit Wednesday when it was revealed that projected starting free safety Xavier McKinney suffered a fractured foot, requiring surgery.
McKinney, the Giants’ second-round draft pick (36th overall) out of Alabama, was slated to start alongside strong safety Jabrill Peppers in a DB unit already without starting cornerback DeAndre Baker, who is on the exempt list after being charged with four felonies for an offseason armed robbery in Florida. Sam Beal also is absent after opting out of the COVID-affected 2020 season.
McKinney, 22, was slated to undergo surgery to repair a fracture of the fifth metatarsal in his left foot Wednesday at the Hospital for Special Surgery by foot specialist Dr. Martin O’Malley. No timetable was given for a return, but he likely will miss a minimum of six weeks.
If a player is placed on the injured list after rosters are cut down to 53 players, he must miss a minimum of three games and then he can be designated for return. After he is designated, there is a three-week window to activate him.
Inside linebacker David Mayo also is heading for surgery Thursday to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee.
“Any injury to our roster is a hit to us because we care about every player on our roster. But it’s our responsibility to have everyone developed and make sure the next man’s ready to go,” Giants coach Joe Judge said after practice. “Xavier’s a guy for us who’s making a tremendous amount of improvement, and, look, we’re still looking forward to getting him back out there on the field. I’m not a doctor, I don’t have that timetable, I’ll let [the medical staff ] handle that. “My only concern at this point is that he just continues to work as hard as he can to get back on the field.’ McKinney’s absence likely will create an expanded opportunity for Julian Love, a secondyear defensive back out of Notre Dame who has impressed the new coaching staff with his versatility at multiple positions. “I think the thing about Love that stands out, he is a smart football player, on and off the field, in terms of his awareness with the situations, awareness of personnel the offense is giving us,” defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said. “The fact that he’s able to see that and dis
sect that, that’s been a good thing for us.
“The fact that he’s played multiple positions, whether he’s been a corner, whatever he’s played, that’s a positive because it gives us an opportunity to use his skill sets. Because he understands the bigger picture, because he’s played in multiple spots, it makes it even more interchangeable.”
As a rookie, Love appeared in 15 games (five starts), with one interception and one forced fumble. Judge added that Love has become increasingly confident and vocal on the field throughout this summer’s camp.
“He’s getting more comfortable back there,” Judge said. “That’s important in that role, being the signal-caller in the deep part of the field. He has the athletic ability that we’re going to play him in a different variety of spots based on the matchups.
“I’m not really concerned about where he was last year. I’m concerned with where he’s going to be in a couple of days, next week, a month from now. And I see him moving on the right track in that direction.”
The Giants are likely to play inside an empty (or mostly empty) MetLife Stadium this season due to the coronavirus pandemic, and Wednesday they got a taste of what that will be like.
Joe Judge held a rare practice on the Giants’ home field, what he described as a “situational walk-through” without pads. With no preseason games scheduled this summer due to COVID-19, they also are slated to hold an intrasquad scrimmage at MetLife Stadium on Friday night.
“We wanted to take the time today to really let the guys get their legs back under them,” Judge said. “Kind of have a good flow to our weeks right now for as far as how we’re training their bodies.
“We kept on a normal pattern as a Wednesday, give them a little bit of a down day for the team, which means we keep the same mental energy and focus within the situations.”
➤ In addition to rookie safety Xavier McKinney’s foot surgery, inside linebacker David Mayo also is scheduled to undergo a procedure Thursday to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. The six-year NFL veteran appeared in all 16 games (13 starts) in his first season with the Giants in 2019, registering a career-best 80 tackles (50 solo) and his first two career sacks.
“Very much like Zay [McKinney], we have to wait and see what the doctors say after they go in,” Judge said. “There wasn’t anything that we thought was an issue, but I guess it flared up on him [Tuesday]. … He’s a guy that we respect a lot and we’re counting on for a lot of production this year. Get him healthy and back out there as soon as possible.”
➤ Offensive line coach Marc Colombo offered high — if R-rated — praise for rookie offensive lineman Matt Peart, saying of the third-round pick out of UConn, “He just looks like a f---ing football player.”