‘Weird’ Kenny Golladay situation continues to unfold for Giants

The New York Giants’ Kenny Golladay soap opera appears to be just getting started, with questions and speculation continuing to arise.

Golladay, in the second year of a four-year, $72 million contract, played only two snaps on Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. Pro Football Network reported on Tuesday that “don’t think he can help them right now” and that head coaching Brian Daboll has been Facetiming with free agent wide receivers.

PFN’s Aaron Wilson wrote:

The Giants are running a meritocracy, per a league source. There is nothing promised to any player, especially ones that are holdovers from the Dave Gettleman-Joe Judge era.

Under new coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen, they simply are trying to play the players they feel give the team the best chance to win right now. And their actions speak volumes about Golladay. They don’t think he can help them right now. Hence, why he isn’t playing more.

“It’s a bad contract, and they inherited Kenny,” a league source said. “Brian and Joe aren’t going to just play a guy because he makes a lot of money. He’s not their guy. They’re playing their guys. It is what it is.”

This is similar to what I wrote on Monday, when I said that the Giants “are simply going by what they see, and playing the guys who do the best jobs. I also wrote on Monday that because Daboll and GM Joe Schoen were not responsible for bringing Golladay to the Giants they do not face the pressure of having to justify his contract, or prove that they were right to bring him to the team.

Giants’ defensive back Julian Love did admit Tuesday on WFAN that the Golladay situation is “weird.”

“It’s a tough situation. (Brian Daboll), as soon as he got into the building he said that we’ll operate on a week-to-week basis – kind of like what can you bring to the table each week?” Love said. “In terms of roles, I was lining up at linebacker most of this week, so our inside linebackers their snap counts went down significantly. Nothing went wrong, it’s just how it goes. That’s how it is on the offense too, they saw something in Sills, he had some good plays in the game. It’ll fluctuate, so we’ll see how this week goes in terms of Kenny.

“But he’s locked in. He’s ready. His locker is right next to mine in the locker room. He just goes about his work, he’s in early, he’s there late just like the rest of us. We’ll see how that changes. It’s definitely a weird situation, but [Daboll] sticks to his word and he’s looking for the best matchups and best opportunities come Sunday.”

As I also wrote on Monday, PFN indicated that there is no issue with Golladay’s attitude, and that his lack of post-game availability to the media Sunday evening is not a concern.

“Not talking to the media, that’s the main reason for him not to be in there after the game,” a source said. “Like a lot of the players, they get dressed fast and they get out of there. That’s nothing new. A lot of guys do that even if they play a good game. It’s not really a big priority for them.”

About those FaceTime sessions

For what it’s worth, FaceTiming is one of Daboll’s favorite things to do.

With that said, if the Giants are actually looking for wide receiver help there is not a lot of it out there.

The big fish out there is Odell Beckham Jr., and I will go out on a limb and say the chances of Beckham returning to the Giants are slim and none, tilting heavily toward none.

Beckham has suffered three major injuries in his career, the 2016 fractured ankle with the Giants and two torn ACLs. He’s 29. He sees his football mortality. The Giants might be 2-0, but you are fooling yourself if you think the Giants are a team capable of making a deep playoff run. First of all, why would Beckham go to any team that does not have a legitimate chance of winning the 2023 Super Bowl?

There are a myriad of reasons why the Giants wouldn’t reunite with Beckham. Here are a couple.

• Money. The Giants have $5.159 million in cap space right now, per Over The Cap. Does anyone think Beckham is playing for a contract at or near the minimum? I don’t.
• The Giants are building. This is really the same reason I stated above as to why Beckham would not come to New York. The Giants are not one playmaker away. They are building. Why would they sign Beckham, who likely wouldn’t be part of the long term answer?
• Culture. This is not a knock on Beckham. This is just to acknowledge that it’s New York, Beckham is Beckham, and because of those two things he would be bringing a media-driven circus to the Giants’ locker room. As they try to build something sustainable, why would Joe Schoen hand that to his first-year coach? I don’t believe he would.

So, who could Daboll be FaceTiming?

Cole Beasley, former Dallas Cowboy and Buffalo Bill, just signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Perhaps the best wide receiver available is Will Fuller, former of the Houston Texans. Adam Humphries (320 receptions in seven seasons) is a free agent. Long-time Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton is out there, though only he knows if he wants to play — or if the Colts are the only team he would return for. John Brown had a 1,00-yard season for Daboll with the Bills in 2019.

Other guys who have played for Giants wide receivers coach Mike Groh in the past are Greg Ward and Isaiah Ford.

Or, the Giants could wait for rookie Wan’Dale Robinson to get healthy and, if Kadarius Toney continues to struggle with staying on the field, give Darius Slayton a full chance.