Xavier McKinney claimed he was listening to rap music, not dropping hints on joining the Eagles, Seahawks or any other bird-named team.
The soon-to-be free agent safety caught the attention of fan bases around the NFL on Wednesday when he tweeted, “Starting to see this life sh– from a birds view …”
Was it a hint that he is preparing to leave the Giants?
“I wasn’t even thinking nothing when I tweeted it,” McKinney said Thursday on YouTube’s “Up & Adams Show.”
“I was listening to a song [by Nipsey Hussle] and then I literally tweeted it. Then I started seeing everybody commenting different stuff about this team, this team, this team. I’m like, ‘It wasn’t even about that.’ But I guess y’all take it how you want.”
More to the point, could McKinney see himself playing for the safety-needing Eagles, especially when he says he is “trying to be as open as I can?”
“I would just say I’m big for the Giants right now,” McKinney said after a long pause. “That’s where I want to be. If something can’t get done, obviously I have to weigh my other options and see what else is the best situation for me out there.”
McKinney, 24, is the youngest top option in a suddenly crowded safety market that includes former All-Pros Justin Simmons, Jamal Adams and Jordan Poyer.
“I do believe I’m the best one out of all these guys,” McKinney said. “I think I provide a lot as far as my production, how I play and what I’m able to do as far as covering, tackling, playing the deep part of the field. There’s not a lot of safeties that you can find that are like me. I think my play has shown that.”
McKinney expressed gratitude that the Giants did not place the transition tag on him – thus possibly restricting his free-agent market by scaring off interested teams who suspected that the Giants would match any offer that McKinney signs elsewhere – by Tuesday’s deadline.
A source told The Post’s Paul Schwartz that not sticking McKinney with a one-year, $13.8 million tender for the right of first refusal was an act of good faith toward getting a deal done.
“I really didn’t know the plan was as far as what they wanted to do,” McKinney said. “I know it was something that could’ve happened. I’m kind of grateful that it didn’t.”
The five highest-paid safeties in the league all earn at least $16 million per year. Three of them are represented by David Mulugheta, who also is McKinney’s agent.
There seems to be no incentive for McKinney to agree to a deal between now and Monday, when free agency opens and other teams can dictate his value.
“I do want to be a Giant, but at the end of the day the money has to make sense and everything else has to make sense,” McKinney said. “We’ve been talking and trying to figure it out as best we can. Hopefully it gets done, but I can only control what I can control.”
What’s his confidence level that he will return?
“If I knew,” McKinney said, “I wouldn’t be afraid to say it.”
McKinney is a homegrown two-time captain who ranked No. 4 among safeties last season, according to Pro Football Focus.
He played every snap last season, rotating between free safety, strong safety, man-to-man coverage and blitzing.
He is dismayed at how many top defensive backs have been released.
“It’s kind of mind-boggling to me, especially seeing what the league is turning into as far as it being a passing league,” McKinney said. “You need a star safety, you need a guy that can cover these tight ends and these receivers.”