Is benching Kenny Golladay in the Giants’ best interests?
By Mike Luciano
The New York Giants have had very little to complain about during their 2-0 start, as Brian Daboll has the vibes feeling immaculate around this team right now. If any player on the team can be labeled as a malcontent, it’s expensive wide receiver Kenny Golladay.
After leading the league in touchdown receptions in 2019 as a member of the Lions, Golladay signed a four-year, $72 million deal with the Giants with the expectation that he would be Daniel Jones’ new best friend. After 16 games with the team, Golladay has 543 receiving yards and as many touchdown catches as you and I.
Golladay received just two offensive snaps in New York’s win against the Panthers, and he was not shy about voicing his displeasure with his role in the offense. Golladay said that he “should be playing” instead of watching names like Richie James get time over him.
The Giants are so locked into this contract that a trade or release is simply not feasible, given all of the guaranteed money and dead cap they would have to absorb. Golladay is going nowhere, so it’s incumbent on both parties to strike a truce and figure out some way to make the NIU alum more productive.
“I should be playing regardless”
— Talkin’ Giants (@TalkinGiants) September 21, 2022
Kenny Golladay on only getting 2 snaps Sunday via @SNYGiants pic.twitter.com/E9P5juyNPD
The Giants need to work with Kenny Golladay.
On one hand, Jones and Golladay have simply never meshed. With a reliance on Saquon Barkley and young talent and Kadarius Toney (when healthy) and Wan’Dale Robinson being the way forward for this offense, cutting out some of the dead weight from the Dave Gettleman era seems logical.
On the other hand, it’s hard to believe that Golladay forgot how to play football after leaving Detroit. If we’re willing to consider Joe Judge’s final season a complete wash for many of the players New York expects to contribute on offense, why not do the same with Golladay? His size still makes him a red zone threat.
Golladay likely won’t be relegated to two snaps every game, so finding some sort of middle ground needs to be high on New York’s priority list. Even if he’ll never be a Pro Bowler, there’s still plenty of ways that Golladay can contribute to the success of this new-look offense.
This #Giants WR saga is so good.
— Adam Levitan (@adamlevitan) September 22, 2022
Last week, Brian Daboll goes up to Kenny Golladay and informs the $72M WR he's getting benched in favor of David Sills. Via @JordanRaanan: https://t.co/6h0L5wkAcw
The Giants can’t afford to disagree with him over playing time and completely screw up the mojo, especially when there is a way for both sides to overcome their differences and work towards an equitable solution for everyone. Golladay needs to quit being prickly and Daboll needs to increase his workload slightly.
