Jets to take Xavier McKinney lesson into bye week

The New York Jets want to avoid the type of bye-week setback Xavier McKinney of the New York Giants recently experienced.

"It’s understanding that even though it’s a bye, it’s not a bye," Jets linebacker C.J. Mosley said as 6-3 Gang Green enjoys a break before the Week 11 game at the New England Patriots on Nov. 20, per Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post. "The main thing is to take care of your body and staying active. It’s unfortunate when you hear things like [McKinney’s accident]. Hopefully, everything is OK. I’ve lost teammates, I’ve lost friends during these types of off periods. It can come at you fast before you know it. You’re just enjoying life in one moment and the next thing you never know what can happen.

"The advice is always to be in a safe place, go home, get off your feet, but don’t get away from ball too much. Because we have a goal, we have a mission to accomplish and we’ve done a lot good things to this point, so we don’t want to go backwards when we start back next week." 

Mosley was referencing the hand injury McKinney suffered in an ATV accident that occurred in Cabo when the 6-2 Giants were on their bye. McKinney is on the reserve/non-football injury list and will miss at least four games, and ESPN's Jordan Raanan noted that it's unknown if the 24-year-old will play again this season. 

"I always tell people to stay engaged, watch football, learn from you did in however many games you played before the bye week, learn what can do different in this second go-round," Jets defensive lineman Quinnen Williams added while seemingly sending a message to teammates. "We had nine games and have a lot of learning we can do to make ourselves better. For me, I’ve got a lot of learning I can do for this second [half]." 

Former NFL quarterback and current WFAN radio host Boomer Esiason is among noteworthy individuals who have said the Giants should punish McKinney even though the safety insisted he wasn't 'reckless' during his club's bye. According to The Post's Ryan Dunleavy, the Giants haven't announced any team-issued discipline related to McKinney's incident.