Getty Kenny Golladay after a score against Kansas City.
The Detroit Lions made their hire of Dan Campbell official a week ago, and since, the coach has been busy assembling one of the strongest new staffs in the NFL.
Comments from current players about Campbell’s raucous first press conference have been scant, but Detroit wideout Kenny Golladay was one of the first players to be able to offer some genuine thought on the hire of Campbell from the roster.
As he said on Good Morning Football, Campbell’s intensity made him laugh, and also is something that resonated with him given the energy the coach brought to the mix.
.@Lions WR Kenny Golladay on @gmfb @nflnetwork on HC Dan Campbell’s presser: “I died laughing. That’s the energy I’m talking about.”
When it came to the kneecaps? Golladay jokingly admitted that if Campbell wants the team to start biting them, he’s going to do it.
We just asked Lions WR Kenny Golladay his reaction to Dan Campbell’s first press conference.
“I guess we’re gonna be biting some kneecaps.”
As for Golladay’s future, that remains up in the air. Brad Holmes has taken over as general manager and will have to make the call on whether to negotiate with Golladay on a new deal, use the franchise tag to keep him around or let him walk in the end. There’s been no indication what way the Lions could be leaning, though if Golladay stays, he’s sure to have a new quarterback tossing him the rock next season.
Will that appeal to him? It’s more than possible at this point after hearing his first thoughts on Detroit’s new staff.
Kenny Golladay’s Contract Talks Stalled
The Lions had long said they wanted to get a deal done with Golladay to keep him in the mix for the future, but did not see any details of the negotiations go public this past offseason nor have they appeared to move firmly on a deal at all during the year. It was assumed after Taylor Decker’s deal that the Lions may have been able to get the job done on a Golladay extension before the season, but when it did not play out with that timeline, many were left to wonder if it would indeed happen in 2020 or if Golladay would have to wait. Now, it’s clear he is going to be waiting given the changes within the front office.
An answer could be coming soon for the Lions, though. The team will need to decide what to do with Golladay shortly after they make the call on Matthew Stafford.
Lions Front Office Will Determine Kenny Golladay’s Future
With 3,068 yards and 21 touchdowns thus far in his career coming into the 2021 season on the field after being a third-round pick in 2017, Golladay looks like an obvious top dog in Detroit for the foreseeable future no matter who is playing quarterback and a clear home grown talent. He proved that to be the case in 2020 itself with 338 yards and 2 scores in spite of missing most of the season with nagging injuries.
Even in spite of all of that, the Lions have plenty of things going on multiple fronts. Dan Campbell, Brad Holmes, Ray Agnew and John Dorsey are now in control of the direction of the team. Obviously, this means that Golladay’s future is firmly up in the air considering it will be hard to say what a new staff will think of handing out a big deal to a wideout, no matter how important Golladay might be. Holmes said the Lions want to retool and not rebuild, so keeping a guy like Golladay around could play into that, especially given the depth the Lions are slated to lose at wideout.
Golladay has maintained he wants to stay and seems to have good thoughts about Campbell. Will that be good news for the Lions? That remains to be seen, but it’s at least a start for the team.
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