Getty Kenny Golladay celebrates a score for the Lions.
The Detroit Lions have been debating what to do about Kenny Golladay’s franchise tag in recent weeks, and there could be an interesting development coming on that front.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter went on Get Up on Monday morning and dropped an interesting statement that the Lions may not be set to franchise Golladay on Tuesday, after all.
Update on Kenny G: There is a chance Detroit just lets WR Kenny Golladay walk and not use the estimated $16M franchise tag on him
Source: @AdamSchefter
Golladay’s future has been a major talking point for the team and for the NFL given the fact that he is a player that could be a big addition to the free agency market if the Lions don’t elect to bring him back. Should that be the case, Detroit would likely be a player for other free agent wideouts and also potentially a young pass catcher in the draft.
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It will be interesting to see if this proves true in the end and what the Lions decide to do.
Lions Quiet About Kenny Golladay’s Future
Speaking on Tuesday, Detroit general manager Brad Holmes was asked about the Golladay issue and explained that he understands the talent of the wide receiver and the advantage it provides his team. Even such, he admitted there is no panic at this point about making a decision on the franchise tag. Holmes all but hinted that the Lions are going to take their time with a decision in the week ahead.
Brad Holmes: “I don’t think there’s any debate that Kenny (Golladay) has shown the ability to be a number one receiver in this league.”
Added that the Lions need to make the best decision for their roster but also for Golladay. “You’ll hear about what we’ll be doing shortly.”
Detroit has until March 9 to make the call with Golladay on the franchise tag, and many see it more than likely that the team will use the tag when all is said and done. No matter that, it seems the Lions are going to take things down to the wire as it relates to making the official call.
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Lions Options With Kenny Golladay
There are plenty of things the team could do at this point with Golladay, including simply tagging the wideout, keeping him on the team and negotiating a new deal later. Others have hypothesized that the Lions could tag Golladay and try to trade him for a high draft pick this season. The Lions could also keep Golladay and elect to trade him later during the NFL trade deadline, especially if the team is scuffling midseason. Likely, charting out all these outcomes is the reason the team is taking their time with the official decision. There’s plenty to think about, including the potential to also negotiate a long-term deal with Golladay ahead of the tag deadline if they think they can get one done.
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 for the team. 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. Reports say Gollday is healthy now.
At this point, it appears things could truthfully go either way for the Lions and Golladay.
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