Giants Safety McKinney, LB Mayo To Undergo Surgery

Injuries have been plaguing the Giants during training camp as the team announced two players will undergo surgery. On Wednesday the team said safety Xavier McKinney will undergo surgery for a left foot fracture and linebacker David Mayo will undergo surgery for a torn meniscus.

McKinney, a second round pick, had high expectations going into the season. In 2019, he played in over 200 snaps at both safety and cornerback for Alabama. He totaled 95 tackles, three sacks and three interceptions for the Crimson Tide in 2019. McKinney is expected to miss two to three months.

Julian Love will be in position to start at free safety. Love was expected to also play multiple positions in the Giants’ secondary in 2020. Love played in 15 games as a rookie in 2019, finishing with 37 tackles and one interception. He started in five games for injured safety Jabrill Peppers.

Linebacker David Mayo will also miss time with a torn meniscus. The Giants signed Mayo before the 2019 season. He played in all 16 games, starting in 13. He recorded 82 tackles, five tackles for a loss and two sacks. On March 13, the Giants re-signed Mayo to a three-year contract. Mayo was expected to start alongside Blake Martinez at inside linebacker this year. The timetable Mayo’s return is also within the two to three month range.

Second year linebacker Ryan Connelly will most likely take over for Mayo. Connelly is returning from a torn ACL he suffered in week four of the 2019 season. He recorded 20 tackles, one sack and two interceptions before going down with the injury.

(Photo: Matthew Swenson)