Detroit Lions wideout Kenny Golladay is trying to chase down a new contract, and had a pretty good 2019 season to help in getting that objective done.
There’s always a chance a serious injury could intervene, thus hampering his hopes of cashing in on the new deal. With the coronavirus pandemic impacting the NFL in plenty of ways, that could have theoretically led a player in Golladay’s situation to decide to take a step back and stay on the sidelines to preserve health. Not so in the young wideout’s case, as he recently explained.
Speaking on an episode of The DB Room with Glover Quin, Golladay was asked by his former teammate if he considered walking away. It was never an option in his case due to his love of the game and desire to play within the team’s offense this season.
As Golladay explained:
“That ain’t even me really to be honest. I was bored. I love ball that much, so I’m ready to play to be honest. I wasn’t going to opt out, I was going to play for sure. Just to be there for my guys, Marvin (Jones), Danny (Amendola), I’m just speaking on the offensive side right now, (Matthew) Stafford, the offensive line, Kerryon (Johnson). I can’t leave those guys hanging like that.”
Detroit had only 3 opt outs ahead of the season, but 2 came from the offensive side of the ball when they lost Geronimo Allison and Russell Bodine. There was concern about others choosing to stay on the sidelines, but in the case of Golladay, he was more than ready and willing to get back to the action.
The expectation is Golladay impacts the offense in a big way, gets a contract extension he deserves and continues to show Detroit why they could have one of the young greats in the making on their roster.
Lions Linebacker Wanted Longer Opt Out Deadline
was the opt out deadline too quick for the league and should the players have more flexibility to opt out if and when they choose? That’s just what Detroit Lions linebacker Jamie Collins thinks. Speaking to the media this week, Collins admitted that he’s not sure the players had enough time to truly make the best informed decisions they could have for this season.
New Lions LB Jamie Collins on the op-tout deadline: We need more time. There’s still going to be problems down the road and if the virus affects someone close to them, they’ll want to opt out. Deadline day won’t mean anything.
Detroit’s linebacker makes an interesting point. If the virus gets worse during the season, what options will players have who thought it may have been safe earlier this summer? How about if a player or his family are deeply impacted? It will be interesting to see how the league can control the virus and also manage the players who might not be thrilled about how things are going.
Collins is likely not the last player to have this opinion or make this point.
Lions Opt Outs
Of all the players leaving the league, only 3 were members of the Lions. The most recent and final before the deadline was offensive lineman Russell Bodine. Defensive tackle John Atkins and wideout Geronimo Allison were the only other players to
In terms of Allison, the opt out had everything to do with his young family and just having a newborn baby. Thus far, the Lions have managed the virus well on their team and have had all of their once ill players come off their COVID/Reserve list in recent days.
In Golladay’s case, he never considered walking away in the first place.
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‘That Ain’t Even Me:’ Lions Wideout Explains Not Opting Out