In 2024, the Green Bay Packers played in an extremely tough NFC North division. Three of the four teams had 11 or more wins. The Lions, Packers, and Vikings all made the playoffs.
Green Bay’s postseason ended with a 22-10 loss to the Eagles in the wildcard round. The team has a ton of young talent who are returning for the 2025 season. As a franchise, the Packers are optimistic about their future. Recently, it was announced that safety Xavier McKinney is dealing with a nagging calf injury. He’ll reportedly miss the rest of camp and all three preseason games for the Packers.
The Packers expect Xavier McKinney to be ready for Week 1 in 2025
Packers’ safety Xavier McKinney could miss the rest of training camp due to a calf injury.
Story via @RobDemovsky:https://t.co/Su0SYBAUpE
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 8, 2025
With a second-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft, the New York Giants selected Xavier McKinney. He played the first four years of his career with New York. McKinney played in 49 games for the Giants and made 46 starts. Following the end of the 2023 season, McKinney became a free agent and signed a four-year, $68 million deal with the Packers.
During his first season in Green Bay, McKinney started all 17 games and earned a first-team All-Pro selection. Additionally, he was named a Pro Bowler and finished eighth in defensive player of the year voting. McKinney had a career-high eight interceptions in 2024 after nine over four seasons with the Giants. His eight interceptions last season ranked second to Lions’ Kerby Joseph with nine.
Xavier McKinney makes it sound like he won’t practice for a while because of the calf injury that sidelined him today. He doesn’t expect to play in the preseason. Said the injury has been lingering, but emphasized he’ll be ready for Week 1.
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) August 7, 2025
Xavier McKinney practiced on Wednesday for the Packers, but did not participate on Thursday. He is dealing with a nagging calf injury that has flared up this week. The Pro Bowl safety has roughly a month to rest and recover before the 2025 regular season begins. McKinney said he’ll take his time to work back and build up closer to Week 1.
Another member of the secondary set to miss time in the preseason is CB Nate Hobbs. He suffered a knee injury and underwent surgery last week. ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reported that Hobbs believes he’ll be ready for Week 1 vs. the Lions. Having Xavier McKinney and Nate Hobbs back at full strength for Week 1 would be massive for Green Bay’s defense.
