New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll expressed disappointment that star safety Xavier McKinney was injured during the team’s bye week, but stopped short of criticizing his decision-making.
McKinney suffered a broken hand in an ATV accident in Cabo — a clear violation of his contract — and was placed on the none-football injury list.
“I feel bad for Xavier. Disappointed that he got injured. And he’ll do everything he can do to get back and be ready to go,” Daboll told reporters on Tuesday. “I feel bad for him. I feel bad for us. I know he’s disappointed. But we can’t do anything about that now?”
Asked if McKinney will miss more than the NFI’s mandatory four games, Daboll simply said, “we’ll see.”
In McKinney’s absence, the Giants will rely more heavily on Julian Love, rookie Dane Belton and Landon Collins, who is expected to be signed from the practice squad.
McKinney, who owned his mistake and vowed to return as quickly as possible, was arguably playing at a Pro Bowl level this season. He was voted as a co-defensive captain out of training camp and was Wink Martindale’s defensive signal caller.
Daboll said any discussions with McKinney and potential discipline will remain in-house.
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