Unhappy Giants WR Kenny Golladay: 'I came here to play'

Kenny Golladay did his best to remain engaged in the game on Sunday even though he played just two offensive snaps and knew beforehand that he would have such a minuscule role in the game plan.

“It was a little different,” he said of the first time in his life that he could remember being healthy for a game and watching from the sideline. “I had positive energy on the sideline. I wasn’t mad, I accepted the role and just tried to stay locked in mentally in case I did get in there and the ball came my way. I didn’t want to be checked out to the point where I was making mistakes or dropping the ball.”

That was his attitude on Sunday, at least, and one of the reasons Brian Daboll said Golladay handled his surprising benching “like a pro.”

By Wednesday, however, Golladay’s take on the situation had changed to the point where he stood at his locker saying he disagreed with the head coach’s decision, is confused by the directives he is receiving from the staff and front office, and would not rule out asking for a trade or his release if his playing time does not increase.

“I came here to play,” he said in his first public media appearance since the 19-16 win over the Panthers. “I’m pretty sure they’re paying me to play. If they want to see more and, I guess, get whatever situated on their end, I’ll keep doing what I have to do as far as coming in each day."

Not that any of that justifies what happened to him in his mind.

“I should be playing regardless,” he said. “That’s a fact. That’s a fact.”

Daboll said he spoke with Golladay before the Carolina game and told him the plan. That part, Golladay said, is true. It was not an argument, Golladay insisted, but he did speak his mind during that conversation.

“I don’t agree with it or like it,” Golladay said. “He said it. I didn’t agree with it. I feel like if I was in the game it wouldn’t have been a big difference. I feel like everything that was done in the game I for sure could have done. But we won at the end of the day which is good.”

What shocked Golladay, he noted, was no one had said anything to him before that conversation regarding his effort in practice, his competition among the other receivers, or any of the other reasons Daboll gave for not putting him on the field.

“That’s why it’s a little bit confusing,” Golladay said. “Everybody in this building tells me I do everything the right way, be a pro. Even people on the team were kind of like, ‘What’s going on?’… The GM, head coach, all these coaches, they keep saying ‘You’re doing everything right. You handle yourself the right way.’ Like I said, it’s a little confusing.”

While Golladay’s playing time dropped dramatically from Week 1 to Week 2, his production has been steadily low. Last year as he fought through injuries he caught just 37 passes in 14 games for 521 yards and zero touchdowns. Against the Titans in this year’s opener he played 46 snaps, the most of any receiver on the team, but was targeted just twice and caught both passes for 22 yards.

Figuring out how Golladay would fit in the new offense that Daboll brought to the Giants this season has been an exercise throughout training camp and the preseason. Now that the regular season is unfolding, his place in the big picture remains fuzzier than ever.

Still, quarterback Daniel Jones vouches for Golladay.

“I think he's been a great player for us the past couple of years,” the quarterback said Wednesday. “I've got a lot of trust in him, and I know he's working hard, so I'm looking forward to getting out there with him.”

Golladay said he had a solid practice on Wednesday. At one point, he had a conversation with general manager Joe Schoen on the sideline during the workout.

As for the possibility that he’d request a trade or his release, neither is fiscally realistic for the Giants. If it was, they would have already done it and unloaded the burden of the four-year, $72 million contract he signed to come to the club as a free agent last offseason.

“We’ll see how it goes,” Golladay said. “We’re not going to get into that right now. We’re going into Week 3. We’ll see how it goes. There is a lot of football left.”

Maybe a lot of football playing for Golladay, too. Daboll made it clear that his decisions on playing time are week-to-week and often specific to opponents, which means Golladay may see more action Monday against the Cowboys.

In fact, Golladay thinks he will.

“It’s going to probably be a little different,” he said of his usage in the upcoming game. “But I still don’t really know. I’ll prepare like I’m going to be playing, but who knows?”

By Tom Rock

tom.rock@newsday.com@TomRock_Newsday

Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.