Giants safety Xavier McKinney took “full responsibility” for an ATV accident in Cabo that will sideline him for multiple weeks.
“It was an unfortunate event,” McKinney said, via SNY Giants. “I got into a Can-Am [off-road vehicle] accident. It kind of just basically just flipped over, not flipped over but tilted over. Fell on my hand. That’s basically what happened.”
McKinney broke multiple fingers in the accident last Wednesday while the team was on its off week. He underwent surgery after returning from Mexico, and his left hand was covered in a plastic protective case as he talked to reporters Tuesday.
McKinney would not put a timeline on his return or answer whether he even will come back this season, and coach Brian Daboll allowed only that McKinney will be out “a few weeks.” That much is a given. On the non-football injury list, McKinney will miss a minimum of four games.
“I feel bad for Xavier and disappointed that he got injured,” Daboll said. “He’ll do everything he can do to get back and be ready to go.”
McKinney would not answer multiple questions about whether he was driving the ATV, and he said he was unaware that being on an ATV violated his contract.
“We were on a sightseeing tour. That’s what I can tell you,” McKinney said. “It was nothing that was reckless. This was just simply being able to be out in the country, seeing what it looked like. It was an unfortunate event that happened.”
McKinney has played every snap this season and was the defensive signal-caller on the field, so the Giants will have a big adjustment to make on the back end of their defense. Julian Love will wear the green dot helmet as the signal caller of the defense in McKinney’s absence, Art Stapleton of northjersey.com reports.
“I feel bad for him. I feel bad for us,” Daboll said of McKinney. “I know he’s disappointed, but you can’t do anything about that now.”