After complaining about playing time, Giants’ Kenny Golladay flops vs. Cowboys, as trade rumors swirl
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Kenny Golladay wanted to play more.
And he did, though he still didn’t get a ton of action Monday night in the Giants’ 23-16 loss to the Cowboys, which dropped Brian Daboll’s team to 2-1.
But he also flopped on a nationally televised stage, as he had a brutal drop midway through the fourth quarter.
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And all this happened as an NFL Network report earlier Monday indicated the Giants might eventually get so fed up with Golladay that they’d be willing to eat a large portion of his fully guaranteed $13 million salary just to trade him (while surely getting not much in return).
Golladay played 22 of 67 snaps on Monday, after playing just two of 73 snaps in last week’s win over the Panthers (and 46 of 60 snaps in the Week 1 win at the Titans).
Golladay was fourth among Giants receivers in snaps Monday, behind Sterling Shepard (54), Richie James (49), and David Sills (42), who once again got a lot more work than Golladay.
Golladay on Monday was targeted three times and had zero catches. His awful drop came on a third-and-13 play from the Giants’ 22-yard line with 7:49 left in the game and the Cowboys leading 20-13, after they scored a touchdown on their previous drive.
Even if Golladay caught the pass, it might not have resulted in a first down. Still, he dropped it. The Cowboys got a field goal on their next drive and never really looked back. Golladay didn’t play on the Giants’ final two desperate drives, after that drop.
Golladay ripped himself for the drop after the game.
“Me just not looking it all the way in,” he said. “Me just trying to make a play for the team and get up field. Running before you really secure the ball. That’s pretty much all it was. Stuff that can’t happen. I want to be a guy that can make that play. So I definitely put that on myself. It was third down, and that can’t happen. I’m beating myself up about it. Definitely wish I could have it back.”
As for the trade-related report, Golladay — now in the second year of a lucrative contract that looks like a complete disaster — brushed all that off.
“I’m not worried about that right now,” he said. “I just got done with a game. I didn’t see it. I was trying to get ready for this game.”
Not only are the Giants on the hook for Golladay’s fully guaranteed $13 million salary this season, but also a $4.5 million roster bonus for him in 2023 has already kicked in as fully guaranteed, which further complicates any trade speculation.
So even if new Giants general manager Joe Schoen cuts Golladay after this season — and he likely will — Golladay still will have made about $40 million for just two years of work. And it’s been pretty darn lackluster work so far. Through 17 games with the Giants, Golladay has just 543 yards and zero touchdowns, including two catches for 22 yards in three games this year.
Releasing Golladay after this season would free up $6.7 million of his $21.4 million salary cap figure for 2023, with $14.7 million in dead money attached. Yeah, the contract — handed out by mistake-riddled former GM Dave Gettleman — is that bad.
After candidly and brashly complaining about his playing time last week — coming off that two-snap game against the Panthers — Golladay struck a different tone after Monday night’s game, when asked about his workload.
“Whenever they put me in, I’m going to be ready to go,” he said. “I missed one opportunity. Wish I had it back.”
Was it hard for him to find a rhythm Monday while playing so sporadically?
“I mean, to be honest, it really doesn’t even matter,” he said. “You know what I mean? That’s just something you’ve got to do. If you’re not in rhythm, you’ve just got to stay locked in and be ready.”
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So now, Golladay is saying all the “right” things. But he’s still not doing anything to make the Giants’ sputtering offense — which has one touchdown in each of the past two games — any better.
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Darryl Slater may be reached at dslater@njadvancemedia.com.
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New York Giants wide receiver Kenny Golladay (19) catches the ball after quarterback Daniel Jones (8) was hit by Dallas Cowboys defensive end Dorance Armstrong (92) during the second quarter on Monday, September 26, 2022 at MetLife Stadium.
© Andrew Mills/nj.com/TNS