It was certainly not an easy one, but the Lions’ decision to not bring Kenny Golladay back looks better and better each week.
After posting back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2018 and 2019, including topping 1,100 yards with a league-high 11 touchdowns despite Matthew Stafford missing half of that 2019 season, things looked bright for Kenny Golladay heading into 2020 as the Detroit Lions‘ No. 1 wide receiver.
But it was not to be. Golladay played just five game last season due to a hip injury, in an ill-timed shortened contract year. The Lions did not use the franchise tag on him, and if reports are any indication they didn’t make much effort to circle back and sign him to a multi-year deal. The move to trade Stafford to the Rams got most of the headlines last offseason, but not tagging Golladay was a significant decision too and could’ve been a major mistake for new Lions general manager Brad Holmes.
The New York Giants were a consistently rumored suitor for Golladay, and they signed him to a four-year, $72 million deal. The Lions’ talent thin wide receiver corps could certainly use Golladay right now, right?
Lions decision on Kenny Golladay looks better every week
Golladay was limited during Giants camp with a hamstring injury, and he acknowledged how a number of preseason injuries would impact the offense’s ability to get off to a fast start to the season. FOX cameras captured his frustration during the Week 2 game against Washington, even if his outburst was supposedly misconstrued (and hardly well-founded). A hip injury put him on the injury report for a few weeks after that.
Golladay exited Week 5 against the Dallas Cowboys with a hyperextended knee, and he’ll miss a second straight game Sunday against the Carolina Panthers. At this point, a stint on IR can’t be ruled out.
Golladay has topped 60 yards in three of the four games he has played this season, including a six-catch, 116-yard outing against the New Orleans Saints in Week 4. But that’s the rub–he’ll have played in just four of seven games this season by the time it’s all said and done on Sunday. More missed games with his knee issue looks like a lock.
There’s no denying how talented Golladay is, hence the “Babytron” nickname he garnered as a Lion. But Holmes decided he wasn’t worth betting on for a healthy bounceback season with the franchise tag, and thus he certainly wasn’t worthy of a big long-term deal. The early returns say ponying up was a mistake for the Giants. Even if Golladay gets (or stays) healthy and turns things around at some point, it’s a mistake the Lions can happily say they avoided.