New Green Bay Packers safety Xavier McKinney said the presence of Jordan Love — and Love’s stature as one of the NFL’s best young quarterbacks — played a leading role in the former New York Giant picking Green Bay in free agency.
“Big factor,” McKinney said Friday when asked about Love’s impact on his decision. “Obviously, this is a competitive league. You need an elite quarterback to even have a chance. I believe he’s an elite quarterback. I’ve played against him and I’ve watched him play, I think he’s really good. The sky is the limit for him.”
Money was certainly a big part of the equation for McKinney. As one of the top defensive players available, he landed a four-year, $68 million deal featuring a $23 million signing bonus from the safety-needy Packers. But he’s also receiving an opportunity to play for a contending team with an ascending young player at the game’s most important position.
Including the postseason, Love produced 41 touchdowns and almost 5,000 total yards in his first season as the Packers starter. Green Bay won nine regular season games, made the playoffs, beat Dallas in the wildcard round and were minutes away from upsetting San Francisco on the road. Love was especially great down the stretch, and the Packers are now going into 2024 as one of the NFL’s up and coming teams.
“It’s going to be a hungry group, I can already tell. We’ve got a lot of young talent, and it’s going to be fun,” McKinney said.
Last season, the Giants slogged through the year with Daniel Jones, Tommy DeVito and Tyrod Taylor taking turns at quarterback. In Green Bay, McKinney is getting the stability of a player like Love, who is expected to sign a multi-year deal as the Packers new franchise quarterback at some point this offseason.
McKinney wasn’t the only free agent influenced by Love’s presence. Like McKinney, Jacobs played with three different quarterbacks last season. Jacobs sees Love’s talent and is excited about the stability at quarterback.
“To have a guy so young and playing as well as he has, and a guy that’s going to be around for a long time, it’s fun to have something stable…that’s very exciting for me,” Jacobs said. “I’m very excited to play with him.”
