Kenny Golladay’s watch continued Friday, as Giants fans waited anxiously to see if the big broadband receiver would reach his team. And, more precisely, waiting to see if the Giants, after meeting with Golladay, were willing to sign to take him on board.
Golladay arrived Thursday afternoon at the Giants facility to pay a visit that included dinner. That visit lasted until Friday evening, with Golladay head coach Joe Judge, offensive staff members and also general manager Dave Gettleman. The Giants wanted to get Golladay into his building, check him out physically, and also find out if he would be a culture fit for a franchise that, with the judge, isn’t blinded just by talent.
The Giants needed a medical checkup from Golladay, who played in just five games in 2020, missing two games with hamstring problems and nine more games with a hip flexor injury. The Giants sent Golladay to the Special Surgery Hospital for consultation on Friday.
The visit ended with Golladay leaving the facility early Friday evening, but staying in the area overnight. The visit went well, according to a source, with the giants apparently pleased with what they learned of Golladay. Contract negotiations were underway and the Giants seemed confident that an agreement could be reached.
It’s not Golladay, the player, who pauses the Giants here. They know he would instantly become the missing physical presence in his passing game. They understand that Golladay runs on the field of play and that the steps of Daniel Jones change the skin of his attack. They also realize it’s not Randy Moss ’second arrival. However, the Giants are also well aware of the psychic energy that a Golladay signing would inject into their fan base and certainly those who walk the aisles and work in the building where the Giants work and practice. .
The Giants insisted on a face-to-face visit with Golladay, 27, because they wanted answers to questions they had about him.
The Giants had to investigate what fell last season, when Golladay injured his hip in a November 1 loss to the Colts. He did not play again, but was not put on the injured reserve, as the Lions kept hoping for his return. It was speculated that Golladay, who was looking for a new contract, would not run on the field again.
Lions interim coach Darrell Bevell said last season that the claim was unjustified. Asked if Golladay was making a business decision not to play, Bevell told reporters in Detroit, “I can be clear it’s not.”
A source told The Post that Golladay, during the 2020 season, rejected what was believed to be a long-term extension with the Lions for $ 18 million a year. Other major recipients, Amari Cooper, Keenan Allen and DeAndre Hopkins, signed new contracts with a minimum average of $ 20 million a year. A source said Golladay observed this annual compensation. He won’t get it in free agency and probably won’t get close.
Golladay staged a media boycott last season that lasted more than a month. In October, he posted an image on Instagram with the text “That didn’t cost you!”. It was believed to refer to the lions not presenting themselves with a new contract. Shortly after that, he liked an “” NFL Instagram post claiming that Detroit coach Matt Patricia had been fired.
The Giants needed to hear what fell. Remember, the judge told Golden Tate to stay home on a road trip to Washington so the judge considered acts selfish by the receiver. That Tate’s wife complained about his use on social media didn’t help. Tate was released this offseason.
Late last season, Golladay broke the media silence and said, “I mean, everyone knows what I’m capable of. I didn’t care, 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 out and put bad things on the tape.”
Judge has had a relationship with Patricia since her years coaching Bill Belichick’s Patriots staff together. The judge can contact (and certainly does) Patricia about Golladay. Belichick also has Patricia as a resource. Clearly, the Giants and Patriots, two teams that went into free agency in search of receivers, didn’t have a chance to sign Golladay. That Golladay, considered by many to be the main receiver in the market, was not an early signing by anyone in the league is also.
The Giants this past season added Kyle O’Brien to their personnel department and is another source of information for Golladay. O’Brien spent the last five seasons with the Lions and was there in 2017 when Golladay was selected from Northern Illinois in the third round of the NFL Draft.