Safety Xavier McKinney didn’t want to think last week about the possibility of being tagged by the New York Giants as he approaches NFL free agency.

“I’m not the one for tags,” McKinney said during an appearance on “Talkin’ Ball with Pat Leonard,” “so I don’t even really get into it because mentally, like I said before, I believe in my worth and I’ve been able to be a highly productive player. I’ve been able to put up really good numbers. I’ve been able to show that I am a top safety in this league, and I’ve been able to show that I am worth every penny of whatever I’ll get paid.

“But I’m not really into the whole tags, franchise tag, transition – I don’t really know much about the transition tag anyways. But I don’t even want to speak on it much because I’m not even going to put my energy or entertain those things.”

In the end, the Giants might have entertained it, but they didn’t get past that. The deadline for each NFL team to use its franchise tag or transition tag for the 2024 season passed at 3 p.m. CST Tuesday without New York placing either designation on McKinney.

Without the designation, the former Alabama defensive back is headed toward unrestricted free agency at 3 p.m. CST March 13 unless the Giants can work out a contract extension with McKinney before then.

At the NFL Scouting Combine last week, New York general manager Joe Schoen said he had a meeting scheduled with McKinney’s agent later in the week to start contract negotiations. But there’s been no announcement on a new deal.

“Xavier is another player that we’d like to have back,” Schoen said on Feb. 27. “He’s 24 years old, he was a captain, played 100 percent of the snaps. We think a lot of X and look forward to getting to the negotiation period here later this week.”

McKinney said he preferred to remain with the Giants.

“I’ve always said from the get-go, I’m one of them guys, I like staying on the same team in my career,” McKinney said. “Even when I went to Bama, I never thought about transferring. I’m a guy, I’m loyal to the soil, so for me, regardless of if it’s going good or if it’s going bad, regardless of if I’m frustrated or if I’m not frustrated, I always want to be the person to stand 10 toes down throughout the storm whether it’s good or it’s bad because I do understand that everything is not going to be perfect.

“Nothing is perfect ever in life, so for me, and I’ve always been like this, I like to fight through adversity and try to be the person or the solution to help, to figure it out, to turn things around, so for me, I love to fight through that adversity. I’m able to do that. I would consider myself pretty mentally strong regardless of if I’m frustrated or not. I just like to try to figure things out. I never try to quit or give up or run away because that’s just not how I’m built.”

New York went to the playoffs after the 2022 season for the first time since 2016. But in 2023, the Giants fell to 6-11.

During the 2023 season, McKinney played all 1,128 of New York’s defensive snaps. He recorded 116 tackles, three interceptions and 11 passes defended. Only three other NFL players reached those numbers in 2023 – Atlanta Falcons safety Jessie Bates III, San Francisco 49ers linebacker Fred Warner and Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. Bates was a Pro Bowler and Warner and Winfield were first-team All-Pro picks. McKinney did not receive either honor.

RELATED: THREE NFL ULTIMATE IRONMEN HAVE ALABAMA FOOTBALL ROOTS

As a second-round selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, McKinney signed a four-year, $8.391 million contract as a rookie. The sports financial website spotrac.com estimated McKinney’s market value this offseason as a five-year, $52.401 million contract.

“I think my play, my leadership, that kind of speaks of itself,” McKinney said. “And I’ve already said how I feel about as far as being paid a certain way. I do believe I should be paid as a top-five guy because I am that. I believe in that, and the numbers speak for that. But also there are other factors that play a role into ultimately what I want to do. It’s kind of like a mix of both at the end of the day.

“Like I said, I do really love the idea of playing and being with the same team for my entire career. That’s something that I’ve always stuck with growing up at any level.”

If the Giants had used the franchise tag on McKinney, they would have extended their period to work out a new contract with the safety until July 15. They also would have been obligated to pay McKinney $5.984 million for the 2024 season if no deal materialized. The transition tag would have cost $5.433 million.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.