There are a lot of people who remain stunned the NY Giants didn't place the transition tag on star safety Xavier McKinney. The deadline arrived and the belief was he'd get tagged, but instead McKinney is set to hit free agency and surely receive a ton of interest.
What was Joe Schoen thinking? As it turns out, maybe the general manager knows what he's doing after all. According to Jonathan Jones, this was a bit of a domino effect, as the Pats using the transition tag on Kyle Dugger only increased McKinney's value, meaning it would be unlikely in the end if Schoen would end up matching a top offer placed in front of his DB:
If McKinney got a deal the Giants couldn’t/wouldn’t match, they’d lose the player with no compensation as well as miss out on a future compensatory pick. Transition-tagged players no longer count in that formula.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) March 6, 2024
The NY Giants could lose Xavier McKinney in free agency
This all makes a little more sense now, but it doesn't take away from the fact that a lot of Giants fans don't want to see McKinney leave town. He's a homegrown stud for the G-Men, coming off the best season of his young career.
McKinney was a team captain, posted 116 tackles, three interceptions and played in every single defensive snap for the team. You'd think that'd be enough for Schoen to give him whatever he wanted in terms of an extension, but the two sides weren't able to meet in the middle during contract talks.
As soon as the new league year arrives, there's a strong chance we could see McKinney put the pen to paper with a new team. However, recent reports have suggested that McKinney is still more than open to a return to New York, but it would have to of course be at the right price.
In addition to McKinney, the Giants also decided not to tag running back Saquon Barkley. Similar to McKinney, there's a big-time chance Barkley has played his last down for the NFC East side. Just like that, the Giants could be on the verge of losing two of their best players. Not the ideal start to the offseason for Schoen and Co., but we'll see if something ends up getting done with either of the playmakers.