As Giants say goodbye to Kadarius Toney, Kenny Golladay hopes to say hello again to field soon
Toney #Toney
Kenny Golladay was sorry to see Kadarius Toney go Thursday, but the Giants’ highest-paid receiver is far more focused on his own return.
After remaining quiet for a couple of weeks about the knee injury that knocked him out of the Giants’ Week 4 game against the Chicago Bears and has kept him sidelined for three games since, Golladay said he was hopeful that he will be able to return to the field Nov. 13 in a home game against the Houston Texans.
That is the team’s first game after the bye week. Golladay will miss his fourth straight game Sunday when the Giants play the Seahawks in Seattle.
“Getting there,” Golladay said Thursday, a few hours after the Giants traded Toney to the Kansas City Chiefs for third and sixth-round picks in the 2023 draft. “Just steadily trying to stack good days on one another. I feel a lot better, though. I’m going to see how the bye goes, but I will say the past couple of days have been pretty good and I’m praying for no setbacks or anything.”
Golladay and Toney were pegged as the Giants’ starting outside receivers at one point during training camp, but that plan never really got off the ground and after Toney missed the last five games with injuries to both his hamstrings, general manager Joe Schoen traded the 2021 first-round pick Thursday.
“It kind of came out of nowhere,” Golladay said. “I haven’t really gotten the chance to talk to him yet. I’m going to reach out to him. We definitely built some type of relationship to the point where I do feel for him, definitely.”
What advice does Golladay have for Toney now that things did not work out with the team that drafted him?
“Just stay the course,” Golladay said. “Things happen for a reason and just stay the course.”
Toney, in his two games this season, had just two catches for zero yards. Golladay, who signed a free-agent contract that gave him $28 million in guaranteed money shortly before the Giants drafted Toney, has just two catches for 22 yards so far this season.
In their two seasons together, neither receiver scored a touchdown.
Toney, out five straight weeks with his hamstring issues, tweeted after Thursday’s trade that he was not hurt. He later removed the tweet.
“If he said he was healthy then he was healthy,” Golladay said. “I can’t really judge how his body was feeling.”
The question now becomes how Golladay’s body feels. It’s no secret that the Giants would be willing to trade the veteran receiver before Tuesday’s deadline, but that is not likely to happen. Golladay said he isn’t concerned about that anyway.
“I’m worried about getting back on the field,” he said.
Golladay has not been on a winning team since his 2017 rookie season with Detroit, so he badly wants to play a part in helping the Giants continue the success they have enjoyed through seven games.
“I want to be a part of it big time,” he said. “I’m trying everything I can to get back out there. I never have been a part of a team that was 6-1, so I’m definitely trying to get back out there. I get jealous of the guys in a good way. It motivates me even more to get out there with them just so I can put my little stamp on the game however that comes. If it’s in the blocking area, if it’s in the pass catching, that’s what I get jealous about just seeing those guys out there having fun with it.”
Golladay, of course, led the NFL in touchdown receptions in 2019 before signing with the Giants two years later and he believes he can still be an elite receiver.
“Definitely,” he said. “As long as I can stay on the field and put the little injuries behind me, I definitely can do some good things for this team.”
In addition to Golladay, tight end Daniel Bellinger (eye), guard Ben Bredeson, defensive back Cor’Dale Flott (calf), offensive tackle Evan Neal (knee) and outside linebacker Oshane Ximines (quad) were also out of practice Thursday and are not expected to play Sunday. Defensive tackle Leonard Williams (elbow), offensive tackle Tyre Phillips (toe) and defensive back Jason Pinnock (foot) were limited participants in practice Thursday.
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Bob Brookover can be reached at rbrookover@njadvancemedia.com
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New York Giants wide receiver Kenny Golladay (19) stands near the Giants bench with the offense on the field during the fourth quarter against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, September 18, 2022 in East Rutherford, N.J. The Giants won, 19-16.
© Andrew Mills/nj.com/TNS