Giants wide receiver Kenny Golladay has been the subject of trade rumors through the first three weeks of the 2022 NFL Season due to lack of catches and targets. He is in the second year of a four-year, $72 million deal and only has 37 catches and zero touchdowns through 17 total games with the Giants. New York is reportedly shopping Golladay, so here is a look at five possible trade destinations for the wide out.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers are the first and most obvious choice to make a trade for a big name receiver. After losing Davante Adams in free agency, the Pack are in desperate need of receiving talent. As is, they are featuring an injury-prone Sammy Watkins, an aging Randall Cobb, two rookies (one of whom is dealing with injuries of his own) and Allen Lazard.
They paid both Aaron Rodgers and cornerback Jaire Alexander handsome contracts in the offseason, which makes taking on Golladay’s big salary a problem. But, the front office could likely find a way to do it if they really wanted to, and if the Giants take on some of that salary. Apparently, the two sides have already been in talks, so it may just be a matter of time until this move takes place, if both teams can swing it.
Chicago Bears
The Bears lost their own star receiver in the offseason, as well. Allen Robinson II decided to sign a deal with the Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams instead of staying with a team with a shaky offense featuring a green quarterback and a new (defensively-minded) head coach.
Darnell Mooney alone is not going to cut it for the Bears, who may be 2-1, but feature a roster that screams, “top-five draft pick.” They need some help at receiver if they truly want to see what Justin Fields has. That being said, trading for an expensive receiver could look unattractive to the front office, who have holes to plug at the offensive line. However, if they want to compete for the next two seasons rather than resigning to a tank, Golladay fits here.
Dallas Cowboys
This is the year that Cowboys fans will see whether or not CeeDee Lamb is truly a WR1, or if he benefitted from Amari Cooper taking away defensive attention. That can still absolutely be the case if Dallas ends up trading for Golladay.
Lamb knows the system, and will still get WR1 snaps and routes even if they add another talented wideout to the group. Golladay, however, can still succeed here as targets will not be hard to come by after the team lost Cooper and Cedrick Wilson. The Cowboys have a tough road to hoe after losing Tyron Smith and Dak Prescott, but they could still compete with the Eagles for the NFC East crown if they commit to improving.
Indianapolis Colts
Much like the Packers, the Colts are lacking receivers to the point where their WR1 (Michael Pittman) is a WR1 in name only. It is very much unknown if he has the talent to break out and become a true threat. He did have over 1,000 yards last year, but now is drawing all of the defensive backs’ attention.
Golladay can help mitigate this problem. They are almost the exact same size and style of receiver, which opens up interesting propositions for this offense. As currently constructed, it is understood that the Colts will be run-heavy, as they feature one of the best running backs in the league. It could help both the passing game and the run options if Indy has two receivers on the outside of which to be afraid.
Los Angeles Chargers
It’s well-known at this point that the Chargers are absolutely falling apart physically. They seemingly cannot stop losing players. Justin Herbert, Rashawn Slater, Keenan Allen, Jalen Guyton, Corey Linsley and Donald Parham have all appeared on the injury report. And that’s just on offense.
If Los Angeles wants to keep pace in the AFC West, they are going to need more players. Mike Williams is terrific, but not as much so if Allen is going to continually wind up on the sideline. Sure, making a trade for a receiver when the team does not even know how badly their quarterback is banged up seems like a bit of a risk; but this team was supposed to be much improved and go deep into the playoffs this year. Making a trade for Golladay could show the fans and the rest of the NFL that the Chargers are not resigning to their injuries.
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Featured image courtesy of Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images
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