A Kenny Golladay-Giants divorce will almost certainly take place before the 2023 season, but the team’s new regime appears open to severing ties with the high-priced Dave Gettleman-era pickup earlier.
The Giants trading Golladay before the Nov. 1 deadline is not off the table, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes. This would be a financially difficult transaction for the Giants, but Rapoport adds the team taking on most of Golladay’s contract would be the only way a trade would go down. The former Lions Pro Bowler has fallen well out of favor with the Giants, leading to some notable developments leading up to Big Blue’s Week 3 tilt tonight.
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After Golladay played extensively in the Giants’ Week 1 game in Tennessee, Brian Daboll drastically reduced his workload. The sixth-year receiver played just two snaps in Week 2, leading Golladay to say he is confused by the situation and “should be playing regardless.” The two-time Detroit 1,000-yard pass catcher underwhelmed in his Giants debut. He might be with a third team before this season ends, but this would be an unusual trade to complete.
Golladay signed a four-year, $72MM contract during the 2021 free agency period; that deal was by far the most lucrative pact given to a wide receiver on last year’s COVID-19-affected market. The 28-year-old pass catcher saw the downward momentum created by an injury-plagued 2020 slate follow him to New York; he finished with just 37 receptions for 521 yards and no touchdowns in 2021. The outside receiver joined other Giants in a poor passing attack, with coaching and quarterback play undoubtedly lowering wideouts’ ceilings on last season’s woeful squad. But Golladay has not turned his career around under Daboll.
Last year’s big-ticket accord featured $10MM of Golladay’s 2022 salary being guaranteed at signing. An additional $4.5MM of that salary became locked in on Day 1 of the 2022 league year. Golladay is attached to a $13MM base salary this season. Based on where his career has gone since a 2019 Pro Bowl slate, the 6-foot-4 target does not carry much trade value.
Golladay’s $21.5MM cap number tops the Giants’ payroll by a considerable margin. An in-season release would tag the team with a $25MM dead-money charge. The team making it work with Golladay, whom Rapoport adds has not been a problem in the locker room, until 2023 would lead to just $7.9MM in dead money — if designated as a post-June 1 cut.
It will be interesting to see if Golladay can create some semblance of trade value with on-field contributions for the Giants in the coming weeks. For now, he is behind career practice squad player David Sills, whom the Giants view as a player who can create more separation than Golladay at this juncture. Sills and veteran slot Richie James have played ahead of Golladay and Kadarius Toney this season. Both Toney and second-round rookie Wan’Dale Robinson are inactive for tonight’s Cowboys matchup.
Potentially could go down in history as the worst free agent signing in NFL history, and I don’t say that lightly. I do hope that while they do have Kenny the Giants can try to build his value up for a potential trade piece for the deadline.
Albert Haynesworth said HELLO
Send Golladay to the bears with a draft pick and we will eat the contract, he literally cannot be worse than our receivers if he dropped every pass thrown to him and cried on the field for 4 quarters
Brock osweiler and leveon bell were just as bad and osweiler worse
Brock Osweiler, now there’s a comedy show I completely forgot about
Jared Goff entered chat
Goff wasn’t a FA signing, bub.
If you saw Golloday’s indifferent performance in the Monday night loss to Dallas, you can see why Schoene and Daboll can’t wait to send him packing. If they can bring back a 7th rounder for the $72 million fraud, it will be the trade of the year!
Golloday has always had an awful catch percentage. Mid-fifties. Never should have been signed as a free agent. If a receiver can’t catch 70% with Matthew Stafford throwing how will he fare with an ordinary QB?
Bears Let’s Go
No post about sterling Shepards injury ?
Giants are saying they think it’s season ending
hate to see non contact killers like that… looked as if he was in tons of pain
Loved seeing the cowboys go over and talk to him. That was really awesome
Seriously, nobody is going to trade for him
Shepard’s injury might give Golladay another chance. But judging by his output and seeming lack of effort, maybe they should cut bait regardless.
Heard he might want to return to Detroit