Xavier McKinney didn't hold back when trashing his former teammate.
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Following the 2024 regular season, Green Bay Packers safety Xavier McKinney had two career-firsts after just one year removed from the New York Giants. Once McKinney joined the Packers in free agency, he was invited to the Pro Bowl and earned an All-Pro nod in his first year away from the Giants. Following McKinney's Instagram story calling out former teammate Kayvon Thibodeaux, there seems to be bad blood between the two.
“To think he ever thought he was better than me and for them to try to push that … lol,” McKinney wrote on his NSFW Instagram story. “Oh and somebody tell buddy to hop hop off the Melo podcast gossiping and lock back in on his craft. Yeh it's always smoke … remember that! Write it down take a picture. IDGAF!”
Xavier McKinney’s IG story after making All Pro
“To think he ever thought he was better than me & for them to try to push that”
“Somebody tell buddy to hop off the melo podcast gossiping & lock back in on his craft”
This was Kayvon Thibodeaux on Melos podcast 👀 #Giants100 pic.twitter.com/yuPtRp8QCa— The Giant Topic (@TheGiantTopic) January 11, 2025
Now, during McKinney's four seasons with the Giants, he never earned a Pro Bowl invitation, nor was he nominated for the All-Pro roster.
However, just one year removed from John Mara and the Giants, McKinney accomplished both in his first season with the Packers.
And in his Instagram post, he and Thibodeaux appeared to have some sort of rivalry while teammates on the Giants.
Although nothing was ever confirmed about their relationship while they were teammates, some speculated that they didn't get along. However, McKinney seemingly confirmed his stance on Thibodeaux, telling him to stay off Carmelo Anthony's podcast and focus on getting better at football.
McKinney's Instagram post referenced last January when Thibodeaux joined 7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony to discuss the NFL at large. In that interview, Thibodeaux mentioned how he plays one of the hardest positions in the NFL, likely striking the nerve of his former defensive teammate.
“I got the hardest and easiest position in the NFL,” Thibodeaux said, nearly a full year ago. “It's the hardest because I'm going against the second — well, I wouldn't call them the second-most athletic because they're really not the second-most — but when you're talking about size, strength, force output, like when you talk about the physics of it, offensive lineman is the most dangerous. Other than like, a safety coming down full speed, they talk about to physically punch them or press them every play, it's different.
“I'm 250 [pounds]. The average [offensive lineman] is 320. So, you talk about just the mindset that I have to have, or like a Lawrence Taylor, or all these guys who are relentless on defense, like, yo, there is no sub. You're playing 70 straight snaps.”
And while McKinney had the best years of his career with the Packers in 2024, his season isn't over, as Green Bay looks to pull off the upset against the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card round.
With that, the Packers' safety could be bringing extra juice on Sunday, following the message from Green Bay's safety on Instagram.
