Would the Chicago Bears gain anything by bringing wide receiver Kenny Golladay off the streets as a veteran free agent?
Count Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder among those who believe the addition of the former Detroit Lions wideout will be beneficial for Chicago.
The Bears have struggled to find a replacement for Darnell Mooney and DJ Moore at wide out. Velus Jones Jr. doesn’t deserve to be on the roster, Chase Claypool didn’t pan out, and youngster Tyler Scott’s inexperience has occasionally shown. For the team’s Week 10 game against the Carolina Panthers, Claypool was finally a healthy scratch.
It didn’t turn out the way the Bears had hoped for Chase Claypool to be their contested-catch receiver. Holder noted on November 13 that “They could still use someone who can fill that role, and coming down with 50/50 balls was Golladay’s calling card in Detroit.”
Not hurting to add another wide receiver, especially if they were inexpensive. Golladay satisfies that need.
The Player Kenny Golladay Wasn’t the Same
Golladay, 30, played his first four seasons with the Lions before being selected to the Pro Bowl in 2019. In terms of receiving touchdowns that season (11), he topped the NFL, and in 2018 and 2019, he recorded consecutive seasons with 1,000 yards. With 65 receptions for 1,190 yards in 2019, he had his greatest statistical season to date.
The next season in 2020, he was limited to five games due to hamstring and hip problems, but the New York Giants were impressed by his prior performance and signed the wideout to a hefty contract.
In 2021, Golladay signed a four-year deal with New York worth up to $72 million. But things didn’t go as planned during his stay in the Big Apple. In his debut season with the Giants, he caught 37 receptions for 521 yards (14.1 yards per reception) and no touchdowns in 14 games (14 starts).
The seasoned wide receiver caught six passes on 17 targets for 81 yards (13.5 yards per catch) and a touchdown in 12 games (four starts) for the Giants in the previous campaign. Brian Daboll, the head coach of the Giants who was hired in 2022, and Golladay never appeared to get along. For this reason, it was not shocking when he was released in March 2022.
Since then, he hasn’t clicked with another team. The Bears—should they be that team?
Would the Bears Sign Another Wide Receiver?
Chicago still has seven games left in the regular season, so they should give the seasoned receiver a chance.
Golladay has been a reliable big play threat for the entirety of his career (averaging 16.2 yards per reception in his six NFL seasons). At 6-foot-4 and 213 pounds, he is much more accomplished than Claypool and provides the size the Bears’ wide receiver group lacks.
Additionally, he has shown himself to be a reliable blocker, which Claypool lacked.
Holder continued, “Wideout denying that his time in New York was a complete bust, Chicago doesn’t have much to lose at this point and could use the next seven weeks as an extended tryout to see if he’s worth keeping around for the future.”
It’s a thought-provoking notion. Golladay would be worth taking a chance on for Chicago if he isn’t fetching much money, which he probably isn’t at this time in the season. It wouldn’t hurt the Bears to add another potent playmaker to their arsenal as they utilise the remaining regular season to assess quarterback Justin Fields.
Golladay isn’t the greatest receiver around, but he might still have some success. If the Bears give him a chance, it will be interesting to see.
