GREEN BAY — Brian Gutekunst was undeniably thrilled to sign Xavier McKinney in free agency.
Even though it cost the Green Bay Packers a pretty penny — they made McKinney one of the highest-paid safeties in NFL history with his four-year $67 million deal, which included a $23 million fully guaranteed signing bonus and $25.05 million in 2024 pay — and was a significant investment for a team that hadn’t been particularly active in the market in recent years, for Gutekunst, McKinney was worth every cent.
Not only did the ex-New York Giants captain check off all the boxes the Packers general manager had on his wish list for such a signing — a young, ascending player who plays a premium position in new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s scheme and who Gutekunst and the personnel staff liked in their pre-draft evaluations coming out of Alabama in 2020 — but he also is the kind of talent Gutekunst couldn’t believe was on the open market to begin with.
“I just think he’s a unique player to come available,” Gutekunst explained earlier this week during the annual NFL Meetings at the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes resort in Orlando, Florida. “He’s 24 years old. One of the top safeties in the game. A guy who can be a game-changing type player. He really fits the criteria we’re looking for in a free agent — not only as a player but as a leader back there.
“Obviously, (we) extensively scouted him through college and liked him quite a bit coming out. He’s done nothing in his time in the NFL to change that. Again, not a lot of these guys become available. So when they do, I think it’s important for us always to go down that road to see if we can acquire him.”
Although the Giants reportedly made a late push to try to keep McKinney, their GM, Joe Schoen, has said he doesn’t view safety or running back as premium positions in today’s NFL. That would explain why Schoen allowed running back Saquon Barkley to leave for the NFC East-rival Philadelphia Eagles and McKinney to jump to the Packers.
“Players like Xavier, most of the time, it’s more trade-type situations when they become available, if at all,” Gutekunst continued. “As we went through the process, we had a number of players where we said, ‘If these guys do become available, I think we have to consider bringing them and trying to acquire them.’ A lot of those players, before we got to the actual (free agency) date, were gone — either re-signed or franchise tagged and things like that. And he wasn’t, so we aggressively pursued (him).
“We’re just really excited. His next three years should be the best football he plays in our mind, and we’re excited about that.”
That’s because the Packers see McKinney as the do-it-all safety Hafley wants, a guy who can play deep centerfield, come up in the box in run support, cover receivers in the slot and is effective both as a tackler and at intercepting passes.
“I cannot wait. It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do, just be able to play everywhere and do different things throughout the game,” McKinney said after signing his contract earlier this month. “I know I’m going to be able to do that.”
That diversified skillset is what coach Matt LaFleur believed the defense was lacking after the Packers’ three most experienced safeties (Darnell Savage, Jonathan Owens, Rudy Ford) all hit the open market. Savage (Jacksonville) and Owens (Chicago) have signed elsewhere, while Ford remains on the market and could still return to Green Bay.
“Certainly, before we got him, there were definitely some holes at the safety position in regards to (having) a guy that’s proven himself,” LaFleur said, referring to soon-to-be second-year men Anthony Johnson and Benny Sapp III being the team’s only under-contract safeties before McKinney’s deal. “We had some young guys that we’re excited about, but (we needed) a veteran presence that’s been able to play at a really high level.
“I think (McKinney) is one of the better safeties in the league — obviously, with how much he got paid.”
LaFleur emphasized McKinney’s ability to intercept passes as one of his strengths. Although his nine INTs in 49 games over four seasons (including three in 2023) don’t seem like much, they do indicate a meaningful upgrade for the Packers.
Savage had the same number of INTs over 72 games in five seasons (and only three in the past three seasons combined), and the Packers as a team intercepted just seven passes in 2023. Ford (two) and Johnson (one) had three of those INTs, while Savage and Owens failed to pick off a single pass in a combined 1,333 regular-season defensive snaps. (Savage, of course, did have an interception he returned for a touchdown in an NFC wild card playoff win at Dallas.)
“You rely on the safety for so many things,” LaFleur said. “First of all, the communication on the back end is absolutely critical, making sure we get all 11 on the same page. And that’s usually the last line of defense. You get past the safety, there’s nobody left.
“And I love just his ability to make plays on the ball. … Anytime you have a guy who can take the ball away, I mean, that just is what you’re looking for in all your players.”
All that said, LaFleur was reluctant to put too much stock in the idea of McKinney being the missing piece on a defense that certainly had its ups and downs under previous defensive coordinator Joe Barry — but may not have been quite as bad as some frustrated fans felt it was.
“When you look back, there’s a lot of things that we’re certainly proud of,” LaFleur said. “So, I don’t want to just pinpoint one position and be like, ‘That’s going to change it for us.’ It’s going to be an interesting year in terms of, the expectations are going to be a little bit different for our football team, at least from the outside world. And we’ve got to do our best to just ignore all that and get to work, because nothing’s guaranteed in this game.”
