Kenny Golladay enjoying a rewarding visit and coming to the conclusion that he wants to continue his NFL career by signing with the Giants are not the only checkpoints that must be crossed to close a deal. The Giants need to be convinced that the tall, talented wide receiver is right for them, and that is not right.
It is not Golladay, the player, who gives the Giants a break here. They know that he would instantly become the missing physical presence in his passing game, understanding Golladay running across the field and pulling passes from Daniel Jones changes the look of his attack. They also realize that the guy is not Randy Moss’s second coming. Still, the Giants are also well aware of the psychic energy shock that a Golladay signature would inject into the fan base and, no doubt, into those who roam the halls and work in the building where the Giants work and practice.
The Giants insisted on a personal visit to Golladay, 27, because they want to enter a room with him and get an idea of who he is as a person, whether he will accept the tough training of a demanding Joe Judge team and how willing to accept Judge’s sense of team and sacrifice. The visit started on Thursday night and continued until Friday.
This does not mean that the Giants think that Golladay is a bad guy or that there are red flags flying with this player. They simply need answers to the questions they have, and those answers can only be obtained through old-fashioned interpersonal contact.
Medical concerns stem from a hip flexor injury that limited Golladay to just five games for the Lions in 2020. He lost the first two games with a hamstring problem and then injured his hip in the November 1 defeat to the Colts. He did not play again, but was not placed on the injury reserve, as the Lions had hopes of his return. It was speculated that Golladay, in search of a new contract, was not returning to the field.
Darrell Bevell, the Lions’ acting coach at the time, said last season that this claim was unjustified. Asked whether Golladay was making a business decision by not playing, Bevell told reporters in Detroit: “I can make it clear that he is not.”
A source told the Post that during the 2020 season, Golladay turned down what was believed to be a long-term extension with Lions for $ 18 million a year. He saw key recipients Amari Cooper, Keenan Allen and DeAndre Hopkins, all signing new deals averaging at least $ 20 million a year, and a source said Golladay was looking at this annual compensation. He is not going to achieve this at will and he is unlikely to come close to that.
Golladay last season staged a media boycott that lasted more than a month. In October, he posted a photo on Instagram along with the caption “That was costing you!” It was believed to refer to the fact that Lions did not close a new contract. Not long after that, he “liked” a NFL Instagram post stating that coach Matt Patricia was fired.
The giants need to hear about what happened here. Remember, Judge told Golden Tate to stay home on a trip to Washington for what Judge considered Tate’s selfish acts. The fact that Tate’s wife complained about using it on social media didn’t help. Tate was launched this offseason.
At the end of last season, Golladay broke the media silence and said, “I mean, everyone knows what I’m capable of. I wasn’t worried like, ‘I need to play, man. I have to show people. ‘People know who Kenny Golladay is and I was really trying to make sure my body was right. I don’t want to go around and put bad things on the tape. “
Judge has had a relationship with Patricia since the years she trained with the Patriots on Bill Belichick’s team. The judge can contact Patricia – and he undoubtedly did – about Golladay. Belichick also has Patricia as a resource. It is telling that the Giants and Patriots, two teams that entered the free agency in search of receivers, did not take the chance to sign Golladay. The fact that Golladay, considered by many to be the best receiver on the market, was not an early signing by anyone in the league is also telling.
The Giants in this off season have added Kyle O’Brien to their personnel department and this is another source of information for Golladay. O’Brien spent the last five seasons with Lions and was there in 2017, when Golladay was selected from Northern Illinois in the third round of the NFL Draft.
The judge will meet with Golladay, as will general manager Dave Gettleman. Spending time together can ease the Giants’ concerns about Golladay and a subscription can happen. They have to like what they see and hear. The same with Golladay. It is not right.