Kenny Golladay’s free agency is not going as well as hoped for the WR
Kenny Golladay is still a free agent. The former Lions wide receiver found no immediate takers in the NFL’s legal tampering period of free agency. And through the first few hours of players being able to sign anywhere, his phone is still not ringing with the kind of offers he, his agent, or many analysts expected him to get in his first time on the open market.
There has been reported interest from the Dolphins, Giants and Football Team thus far, but nothing has ever approached imminent signing status.
In fact, Golladay is already showing signs of desperation. On Wednesday night, reports came out that the receiver himself asked the Cincinnati Bengals for a one-year, “prove it” kind of deal.
So what happened?
Golladay is the victim of an oversaturated wide receiver market with far more supply than demand. That’s true in free agency but especially true when the deep, loaded NFL draft class is factored in. Golladay carries the advantage of being a fairly unique type of receiver, but the premium demand just isn’t there for a player like him coming off an injury that limited No. 19 to just five games last season.
While he still could land a healthy contract, Golladay’s inability to instantly cash in as a free agent validates the Lions’ decision to not use the franchise tag on the standout receiver in a “tag-and-trade” scenario. The market clearly isn’t there for Golladay at $15.8 million for 2021. Based off some of the other free agent contracts of comparable-level wide receivers (Curtis Samuel, Corey Davis), Golladay isn’t going to get that kind of compensation, either for one year or long-term.
It’s terribly unfortunate for Golladay that the market dynamics and his own dynamics (health, regime change) have not gone his way since he turned down a significant offer last offseason. That money just isn’t there for Golladay anymore, not in Detroit or anywhere else, it seems.
