The New York Giants rested the vast majority of their starters in Sunday’s preseason finale against the New York Jets with the exception of a small few.
Among the projected Week 1 starters to play was wide receiver Kenny Golladay.
Asked about that decision after the game, head coach Brian Daboll gave a rather interesting — and curious — answer.
“We were playing all the receivers. I said it’s a competitive group, so they’re out there competing,” Daboll said.
Pressed more specifically on Golladay’s roster security, Daboll initially gave an even more interesting — and again, curious — answer.
“I mean look, all of those receivers are competing. And Kenny’s had a good camp. Joe (Schoen) and I will sit back, we’ll talk about everybody,” Daboll added.
Could Golladay’s roster spot actually be in jeopardy? Could the Giants be willing to take on a dead cap his of more than $21 million? That seems highly unlikely but given the effort the veteran receiver has displayed, maybe the team truly is considering it.
The #Giants gave WR Kenny Golladay $72 million as a free-agent last season.
He struggled with only 37 catches in 14 games last year and now plays on the 3rd pre-season game with the backups and this is the type of effort he's giving.pic.twitter.com/p7Ryq8kFdz
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) August 28, 2022
In reality however, the Giants simply can not afford to pay Golladay his guaranteed money and then eat a massive cap hit. For that reason alone, one of Dave Gettleman’s biggest blunders will remain on the roster for at least this season.
Still, the way Daboll’s approach to Golladay has evolved is telling. And perhaps realizing the err of his ways, he seemed to walk back the uncertainty toward the tail end of his post-game press conference.
“He’s done a good job with what we’ve asked him to do. He’s competed. And he’s played multiple spots for us. He’s continuing to learn our offense,” Daboll said. “I think he’s done a good job of learning it. I know numbers and catches and all that, I’ve got all that, but he’s done what we’ve asked him to do.”
It wasn’t the best handling of the media for Daboll, who is still getting used to the New York press. Both he and Schoen frequently make comments they don’t think (or don’t realize) are going to made headlines.
Brian Daboll is so bad at the media side of being a Head Coach https://t.co/aPb1WrDOsF
— Bobby Skinner (@BobbySkinner_) August 28, 2022
In this case, every Golladay headline you see is justified. Not just because of what Daboll said or how he said it, but because of how poorly Golladay played this summer. And because of how lackluster his effort has been.
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