A CLOSER LOOK
Giants set to bring star WR Golladay in for visit:
Kenny Golladay, the only true No. 1 receiver on the free-agent market, is arranging a visit with the Giants, a source told the Daily News on Wednesday.
Golladay, 27, who played his first four NFL seasons for the Lions, has an offer on the table already from the Bengals, a source said. But that offer is a one-year contract, not a blockbuster long-term deal.
The Giants have interest, but they also have questions. And Golladay has interest, plus incentive to create competition among suitors. So a visit is happening to see if there is a match.
The 6-4, 214-pound Golladay always was the top receiver on the board for Dave Gettleman and Joe Judge based on his talent and the Giants’ need. But this was never going to be an at-all-costs pursuit.
The receiver market mostly has remained depressed this week, so that favored the Giants’ effort to land the imposing Golladay at their preferred cost. Golladay’s visit now will allow the Giants to assess his health and his fit with their franchise.
NFL Network first reported Golladay’s plans to visit the Giants. ESPN first reported the Bengals’ offer. Sports Illustrated called Golladay’s one-year offer from Cincinnati a “prove-it-type deal.”
Golladay played only five games for the
Lions last season due to a hip injury. But he had back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons in 2018-19. In 2019, he caught 65 passes for a career-high 1,190 receiving yards and a league-leading 11 receiving TDs, also a career high.
The Giants-Golladay situation is fluid, but a meeting with team doctors and the direct Judge should provide clarity quickly on whether Golladay and the franchise are right for each other.
It is noteworthy that the Giants want to meet Golladay in person first despite Judge’s Patriots connections to former Lions coach Matt Patricia and former Detroit GM Bob Quinn — and despite senior personnel executive Kyle O’Brien’s five-year Lions reign as Quinn’s right-hand man.
O’Brien also helped Quinn identify and draft Golladay in the 2017 third round out of Northern Illinois, so he knows better than most what unique talent Golladay brings to a team.
Ultimately, the Giants are one step closer to landing the best wide receiver in this year’s free-agent class, which is what they desperately need after an underwhelming offseason todate outside of Leonard Williams’ expensive re-signing on Tuesday.
There are receivers who have landed significant deals already, led by Corey Davis’ threeyear, $37.5 million contract with the Jets that includes $27 million guaranteed. But largely the receiver market has been at a standstill as prices have come in low.
And Davis wasn’t the player the Giants wanted or needed anyway. He is not a No. 1.
Golladay is, and if he’s everything else they’re looking for, soon he could be on their team.
GIANTS INK VIKINGS DE
The Giants signed former Vikings defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo to a one-year contract late Wednesday night. The deal is worth $2.5 million, per ESPN. Minnesota declined to tender Odenigbo as a restricted free agent, making him unrestricted and free to sign anywhere.
Odenigbo, 26, had seven sacks and 13 QB hits as a rotational backup in 2019, then had 3.5 sacks and 15 QB hits in 2020, his first season as a starter. The 2017 seventh-round pick out of Northwestern has played 54 special teams snaps the past two years.
Expect the Giants to live in this value market throughout the offseason to improve their depth.
SOLDER OFFICIAL, KREITER BACK
Left tackle Nate Solder officially is back with the Giants, the team said Wednesday. Solder, 32, had his 2021 salary reduced from $9.9 million to approximately $4 million, per The Athletic, which creates a cap savings of $6 million. … Long-snapper Casey Kreiter, 30, also re-signed.