Kenny Golladay expected back for Giants; now, can he stay on field?
Kenny Golladay of the Giants runs with the ball after making a catch against Steven Means of the Falcons at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Mike Stobe
For one glorious afternoon in New Orleans a little over a month ago, Kenny Golladay was able to show the Giants what they paid for.
In their win over the Saints on Oct. 3, the wide receiver who was brought in on a four-year, $72 million contract looked as if he was worth every bit of that expenditure. He opened the second quarter with a 27-yard catch, had a key 28-yard reception (with 23 yards coming after the catch) that set up the tying field goal at the end of regulation and hauled in a 23-yard pass that preceded the game-winning touchdown run in overtime.
"I think we’ve gotten a good read on it," Daniel Jones said of what Golladay provided the team. "I think he brings a lot to the game with his size, his ability to catch the ball, make tough, contested catches, be physical with defensive backs. I think you can see that all over the tape and you can see the respect defenses have for him."
Golladay finished that day with six catches for 116 yards.
He has yet to catch a pass since.
While that game against the Saints was an illustration of what Golladay can do, the majority of his stint with the Giants has been marred by the realities of what he has not been able to do.
Injuries have almost completely derailed the first half of his first season with the team, from a hamstring issue that ended his preseason in the first week of training camp to a hip injury that nagged at him early in the regular season to the knee sprain he suffered early in Dallas the week after the victory in New Orleans.
Golladay is expected to return to the field Sunday against the Raiders after missing three full games (he is listed as questionable and might need a pregame workout for final clearance, but he looked ready in practices late in the week). It may be too late for him to save the Giants’ season, as they have fallen to 2-6 and are all but hopelessly out of postseason consideration, but it’s not too late for him to salvage his initial foray with the organization.
"He’s been a damn good player when he’s been healthy for us," offensive coordinator Jason Garrett said. "He’s made a lot of good plays for us and we expect that again this year. He just has to take it day by day and get himself back and ready to go. Once he does, he’ll be a big part of what we do."
Golladay’s play has never been a question, but his health has been. He’s played a full season only once in his career and in 2020, his final year with the Lions, he played in only five games.
He dismissed the idea that he is injury-prone (no one ever admits to that) but acknowledged that injuries have prevented him from making as big an impact with the Giants as he would have liked.
In that regard, he is far from alone this season. Sunday’s game will have the Giants without Saquon Barkley (who sprained an ankle in the same Dallas game in which Golladay hyperextended a knee) and Sterling Shepard (who returned from a hamstring injury Monday night in Kansas City only to suffer a quadriceps injury in the first half).
The only offensive playmaker who has not missed a game this season is tight end Kyle Rudolph.
"It’s frustrating," Golladay said. "All of us could be out there at the same time. I feel like that would be very exciting for everyone. You just can’t control injuries."
What he can control is what he does when he is not injured.
"I just want to go out there and make plays," Golladay said. "All of you have seen me make plays and I just want to go out there and keep doing that week in and week out. Every time the ball comes to me, just make plays."
Golladay said he thinks he can "pick up where I left off" in that Saints game, when he was just starting to forge a chemistry with Jones and find a role in the offense.
"I did feel like I was starting to get into a groove a little bit," Golladay said. More than 41% of his 282 receiving yards this season came in that one game. The only three of his receptions that have gained 20 or more yards came in that game.
"I know what I’m capable of doing," he said. "I just want to prove that."
The Giants thought they were getting a game-changing receiver when they signed Golladay. He has half a season left to show them that player . . . for more than a single afternoon, anyway.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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