The New York Giants’ anemic offensive is adding quite possibly the best free agent receiver on the market.
The Giants on Saturday signed former Detroit Lions star Kenny Golladay to a four-year contract worth roughly $80 million in the hopes of giving quarterback Daniel Jones a big-threat receiver.
Golloday spent three days with the Giants as the two sides got to know each other and the team’s medical staff got a chance to examine the 27-year-old, who was limited to five games last season by a hip flexor problem.
Golladay said he was impressed with what coach Joe Judge and offensive coordinator Jason Garrett told him about the offense, adding the decision to sign was a no-brainer.
“This team is going to get a competitor, a guy who is going to come and work,” Golladay said. “He is going to try to push other guys and have fun with it. You know, I want to have fun while I’m doing this. That’s what I’m doing it for. (I’m) just a playmaker.”
His statistics are a testament to that.
A third-round draft choice in 2017, Golladay played his first four seasons with the Lions. He appeared in 47 games with 39 starts. He caught 183 passes for 3,068 yards and 21 touchdowns, including a league-high 11 scoring catches in 2019.
Golladay had 20 receptions for 338 yards and two TDs last season. The previous two seasons, he had more than 1,000 yards receiving in each campaign and 16 touchdown catches overall.
The Giants’ top three receivers last season combined for only seven TD catches. Darius Slayton had 50 rceptions for a team-high 751 yards and three touchdowns. Sterling Shepard had a team-high 66 catches for 656 yards and three touchdowns. Tight end Evan Engram had 66 catches for 654 yards and one touchdown.
All three are returning to one of the NFL’s lowest scoring offenses, along with running back Saquon Barkley, who was lost for the season in the second game with a major knee injury.
Golladay said the Giants looked at his hip and it’s fine.
Several Giants players reached out to Golladay, including Jones, who was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2019 draft.
“He’s still kind of fresh in the league, a little bit,” Golladay said of Jones. “I kind of want to grow with him. You know, I’m still growing as a player and I feel like me and him can do some good things.”
Some teams had concerns about Golladay because he complained about the Lions not giving him a new contract and he tweeted his approval after coach Matt Patricia was fired last season.
“They just wanted to lay eyes on me, taking a different approach about this whole process,” Golladay said of the Giants having questions about him. “It kind of worked out for both sides. I was able to come in and see what they’re all about. I was able to see how the facility was. They had a chance to pick my brain, and I think it worked out pretty smooth.”
The Giants posted a 6-10 record last season, losing the NFC East to Washington (7-9) on the final night of the regular season.
