Transcript: Safety Xavier McKinney

Safety Xavier McKinney

Q: Do you anticipate playing this weekend?

A: I'm trying to.

Q: We saw you catching some light passes from (cornerback) Darnay (Holmes) on the side, did you catch anything full speed?

A: Yeah, so before y'all came out there I was on the jugs so it's coming out fast. Yeah, that was before y'all were out there.

Q: What was the plan that they've outlined for you? Have they said, 'We want you back this week? Next week?' Have they spelled that out yet?

A: Yeah, they said they wanted me back the first week I was out, but obviously I couldn't do anything about that. They've communicated with me and told me that they're trying to get me back out there, asking if I can play. I'm telling them I can play, but like I said it's up to the trainers, the docs. I know that they're going to make the best choice and best decision but I'm trying to get back out there.

Q: Can you think of reason though that they could say that you can't play? Given what you're telling us?

A: I don't know, it's on them. I don't know. You'd have to talk to them.

Q: How's your hand? Is it sore after catching full speed passes?

A: No, it's literally the same as what it was before.

Q: Is there a risk of further injury?

A: No. It's just like…

Q: Any normal break?

A: Yeah, it's like any normal break.

Q: How much contact did you give it actually? Like grabbing guys, shedding blocks, that kind of thing?

A: A good bit.

Q: Like full?

A: Yeah. When I was out there, obviously, I'm trying to get back out there so I have to test it out. Anything that I can do to provide a little bit of contact against it, obviously I'm trying to do that to see how much I can take, what I need to do, what I don't need to do. Everything felt fine when I did it.

Q: How much of wanting to get back this week is what's on the line?

A: Man, I want to get back big time. The coaches know that, and the trainers know that. They know that I really want to get back and I'm kind of running out of patience here.

Q: Because of the circumstances of this game?

A: Yeah that, but I've missed a lot of weeks. Obviously, I love the game so I'm trying to get back out there. That's what I do and that's what I love to do so I'm trying to get back out there.

Q: What's your football shape status? Because they didn't let you run for a while, right? Could you even do a bike or anything?

A: Yeah, so I couldn't do anything for a little minute. I had the pins in there so I couldn't do anything, but my condition is great. My legs work still, so there was no drop off when it came to conditioning so I feel fine.

Q: Generally, when you break a bone in your body, your hand is still swollen or your foot is still swollen. Has the swelling at all subsided or is there still some there?

A: I mean there's some there. Like I said, it's got to get used to just the contact part again. You're still going to get a little swelling here and there, but I think that's a part of building that scar tissue. I've dealt with an injury before, so I know how it works. I know that it needs to be pushed a little bit in order to get back to where you want it to get to. That's what I'm doing, and it's been good so far.

Q: Did it give you a good scar?

A: Yeah, it gave me a good scar for sure.

Q: How much does the splint limit you or adjust what you do with your hands because you can't grab a guy's shirt with four fingers?

A: It's going to be different, but I consider myself an athlete, just like a lot of these guys in here, so we're able to adjust. I'll be able to adjust and figure out what works, what doesn't work and what I can do to get around to be able to still, like I have all my hand still, in use of all my fingers. I'll figure it out and we'll go from there.

Q: Why the splint? Why this and not the club?

A: It's not bad, it's just that we're trying to protect it right now because it's coming back. Obviously, I didn't want everything to be restricted and they didn't either because they still wanted me to be able to do, think, catch the ball, do stuff like that. If I would've had a full cast on, then I would've been super limited but with this I can pretty much do everything. The only thing I can't do is grab anybody. I can still hit and extend, all that. My wrist is free, everything's pretty much free except for my four fingers.

Q: When you first kind of had the injury and you talked to trainers and you went through testing after everything had happened, was this kind of the date that you've had circled of like this is when I could return to the field?

A: We didn't have a date really. We were just kind of going. For me, whenever I could get back whether that was three weeks from then, four weeks. So, there was no circled date. I was just trying to basically work my butt off and do whatever they needed me to do. Just making sure that I was always doing my rehab, just so I could get back out there as fast as I could. But we didn't have a planned date or anything, we were just going with how I felt.

Q: Are the bones fully healed?

A: The bones are healed.

Q: Do they require one more X-ray or image for clearing you to play?

A: I don't think so, no. We might do another one, I don't know. Like I said, that's something that the trainers and doctors (decide), we haven't talked about that yet. I don't know, I don't think we'll need another X-ray.

Q: The last time you got one was cause enough?

A: Yeah, the last time, yeah.

Q: Has it driven you up a wall in sense? You look at the last six games, 1-4-1, has it been tough sitting there?

A: Has it been 1-4-1?

Q: I think…

A: We got two, right?

Q: 2-3-1.

A: We got two. (laughs)

Q: It felt like less.

A: Okay.

Q: Has it been tough watching the team struggle without you?

A: No. In this league, you're going to have ups and you're going to have downs. I've been saying that from the jump though. This league is a roller coaster, so you've got to be able to adjust throughout the season. Obviously, injuries happen. We're going to have our ups and our downs and that's what happened. We've just got to learn to adjust, and I think we've done a great job of doing that the past couple of weeks. But no, we're fine.

Q: (Defensive coordinator) Wink (Martindale) made a big deal about how the fans could make a big impact at this game. I think even (running back) Saquon (Barkley) sent out a Tweet about that. How do you feel about having this game at home and the difference the crowd could make?

A: Big time. It's obviously a big game for us but I think the fans, just like any other home game, them bringing their energy and them being present is going to be a huge help for us. Like I said, it's just like any other home game that we have. We want them to be loud, we know they will be loud, and it'll be fun.

Q: We're making a big deal about you coming back but (cornerback) Adoree' (Jackson) could be back too. What kind of significance is that for the defense?

A: Big, big time. Like I said, we've been working just trying to get back out there with our team. We've still been present and been in meetings and doing the little things still, so it's been good. It'll be good when we're both back.