GREEN BAY, Wis. — It’s safe to say Xavier McKinney doesn’t like DJ Moore.
Moore, the Bears receiver, appeared on the “Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams” back in May. Adams mentioned to Moore that other NFC North teams had added to their secondaries in the months prior.
“The NFC North, what I noticed, really beefed up their secondary. We notice that?” Adams said.
“Who?” Moore answered.
“The Lions, they took two corners back-to-back. Xavier McKinney’s in Green Bay now,” Adams said.
“That’s nice,” Moore said with a smirk.
“How do you feel?” Adams asked him.
“Eh, I don’t feel no way about it. They just there,” Moore said.
. @heykayadams said the Packers and Lions beefed up their secondaries.
DJ Moore’s response: “WHO?… oh that’s nice.”
DJ Moore doesn’t seem impressed 💀😂
(Full interview: https://t.co/rzdPg2HkXA…) pic.twitter.com/p8HmhTbEQa
— Caleb Williams Fan Club (@CalebFC18) May 7, 2024
McKinney brought the interaction up unprompted in the Packers locker room on Wednesday ahead of the Packers’ first game against the Bears this season, taking place Sunday in Chicago. Green Bay’s potential All-Pro safety, who’s tied for the NFL lead in interceptions in his first season with the team, was asked about his approach to a rivalry game.
“Obviously, you’ve got the rivalry itself, but there’s a clip somewhere out there where D.J. Moore said something about … they were asking him about the Packers getting me and he was like, ‘Who?’” McKinney said. “All that stuff, that’s in my memory bank and I work accordingly to that.
“You know how people get before the season. They don’t really know what’s going to happen during the season and you just start talking too much and you don’t really know what you’re talking about. You’re just talking.”
While McKinney didn’t exactly recall Moore’s interaction with Adams correctly, he’s not miles off, either. It’s clear McKinney is using his interpretation as fuel for Sunday’s game. Moore didn’t respond “who?” specifically to the Packers’ addition of McKinney, but this wouldn’t be the first time an athlete used a competitor’s words for motivation, and Moore didn’t exactly shower McKinney with praise, either.
McKinney also mentioned a moment two weeks ago against the Cardinals, when Moore limped off the field in Arizona while a play was still ongoing. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams scrambled toward the left sideline with Moore breaking back toward his quarterback. Williams spun around to evade a defender and stayed inbounds, but the receiver continued off the field while Williams extended the play for another couple of seconds.
Moore later said that he injured his ankle on the play and couldn’t stop his momentum, which took him out of bounds before he walked off.
Didn’t notice this live, but on this extended scramble play that ended in OPI on Keenan Allen, DJ Moore took himself off the field with what looks like some kind of injury. He limped off at the end and sat on the bench. pic.twitter.com/YTnrZNDYfW
— Nicholas Moreano (@NicholasMoreano) November 4, 2024
McKinney brought that play up unprompted on Wednesday, too, when discussing watching games around the league.
“Playing in the league, every Sunday, Monday, Thursday, I’m watching the games,” McKinney said. “I’ve got Sunday Ticket, so I sit in my room. I’ve got a TV, my monitor and I watch every game. I’m paying attention to formations, little things, how people are playing when they’re up, how people are playing when they’re down, what players are doing.
“(Moore) is another one of those guys, same guy, play’s still going on and you walk off the field on your offense. You know, you take note of that. Everybody takes note of that and we see it and we’re going to work it accordingly.”
That’s not all McKinney had to say about Moore. The Packers’ safety was asked if Moore knows about him now after his offseason comments.
“I hope so, but I don’t give a damn about what he knows,” McKinney said. “This dude walked out on … I’ve been playing (NFL) football for five years now and I’ve been watching football for longer than that and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a … You’re supposed to be the guy and you’re just walking off the field. You’re walking off the field on a rookie quarterback that you’ve been praising, so it’s like, that’s a whole other story.”
McKinney isn’t buying Moore’s ankle injury justification, either.
“Cap,” McKinney said. “That’s what I say. Cap.”
Hopefully, everyone has their popcorn ready for Sunday at Solider Field.
Required reading
(Photo: DJ Moore by Michael Reaves and Xavier McKinney by Kevin Sabitus / Getty Images)
