The New York Giants are the most surprising 2-1 team in the NFL. Their defense has come up big at the end of some games, doing what they can to make up for an underwhelming offensive performance. Could a trade with the Green Bay Packers end up being on the horizon?
While Saquon Barkley looks to be all the way back from injuries that have hampered him the last few seasons, the rest of the offense has been a mess. The offensive line has been shaky outside of Andrew Thomas, leaving Daniel Jones in a tough spot more often than not.
Jones hasn’t lit the world on fire by any means, but he has not received much help from his wide receivers. Despite having the second most expensive group of wide receivers in the NFL, only behind the Los Angeles Chargers, New York gets very little production from them.
Richie James, a special teamer before this season, leads the team with 17 receptions. He is second in yards behind Sterling Shepard, who has 154 but saw his season end in Week 3 against the Dallas Cowboys when he tore his ACL.
Peculiarly absent from that list is Kenny Golladay. Golladay signed a four-year, $72 million deal as a free agent in 2021 and the union has been a disastrous one. He battled injuries last season and the new regime has not used him much this season.
Golladay voiced his displeasure about not being played and got more opportunities against the Dallas Cowboys. He produced a goose egg, including a brutal third-down drop that would have likely gone for a first down to keep a Giants’ drive alive.
With a diminished role, Golladay is someone that will very likely be shopped ahead of the deadline. Finding a taker will be difficult as he is owed a ton of money.
Paying a chunk of the $31.4 million in dead money is something the Giants will likely have to do to find any traction on a deal. His $13 million base salary is also difficult to navigate as there aren’t many teams that have the cap space to absorb that, let alone teams willing to do it.
One team that could emerge as a suitor is the Green Bay Packers. Desperate for some experience at the position, and that was before Sammy Watkins was placed on IR, they could have an interest in Golladay.
They saw first-hand what he is capable of when healthy and paired with a good quarterback during his time with the Detroit Lions. He led the league with 11 touchdowns in 2019 and with Aaron Rodgers running the offense, the Packers could feel as if they would get the most out of Golladay.
A late-round pick is all it would take to get a deal done as the Giants would take whatever they could. Depending on the amount of money New York is willing to cover will determine the draft compensation. A fifth-round pick is likely the most that will be offered and that is a deal that Joe Schoen and Big Blue should jump at should it be offered.
