Meet the NFL's finesse god

Wide receiver Kenny Golladay, is officially set to be released by the New York Giants, reports stated Tuesday. The 29-year-old might hold the candle for one of the most disappointing tenures a player has ever had with a team in relation to what he was being paid, but he's surely a legend in securing a bag.

Let's journey back to March 2021, when the Giants originally signed him to the jaw-dropping four-year, $72 million deal. He struggled with health in his final season with the Lions, playing just five total games, but in the two years prior, there was some magic happening. He posted back-to-back 1,000 receiving-yard seasons (2018, 2019) and led the league in receiving touchdowns in his final season with Detroit.

OK, so what went wrong in NY then?

That's a great question. Simply put — not much happened at all. In the following two seasons after earning that bag, he totaled just 43 catches for 601 yards and a single touchdown. He's had a sub-50% catch rate in each of his two seasons with the team, averaging just 6.47 yards per target (which ranks 86th among 97 qualifying WRs).

What's more surprising? The guy barely played this year. In 12 active games, he played just 33% of offensive snaps. For comparison's sake, he played 90% and 80% of offensive snaps in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

There are a lot of variables to consider when dissecting what exactly went wrong. There were some considerations surrounding his health. There were some interesting dynamics with the quarterback situation prior to Brian Daboll's 2022 arrival (sorry, Daniel Jones truthers), not to mention the fact that this was just a crappy team at the time of his arrival. It probably wasn't all great vibes from either side... and that probably created the perfect storm for how we arrived here.

I'm still giving this man an "atta-boy!"

Giants fans, cover your ears. I'm kinda here for the fact that Golladay earned himself a huge check, even despite the abysmal series of events to follow.

NFL franchises operate with a lot of luxury in terms of their ability to manipulate contracts and player salaries, not to mention they have the ability to exit their contract with a player by way of release, whenever they want. Players don't have that same luxury. "You signed a contract with an NFL team? Great, finish it out," the public says, while turning a blind eye whenever franchises forfeit their end of the deal.

Teams have power in this league. Players do not. Money is power. Now Kenny Golladay has some money. Thereby, Kenny Golladay has some power. Right? I need a refresher on the transitive property as it relates to the NFL, but I think that's how it works.

What's next for Kenny Golladay?

Besides him sitting comfortably on his giant pile of cash, Golladay will probably find some role with some team this offseason — though it's safe to say he's probably going to make a lot less money. The good news for him is that the free agent market isn't very robust this offseason (see the list of best available here in our NFL Free Agency Tracker 🫡), so he shooould be able to find some work. Right?

Regardless of what's next, congrats on the bag, Mr. Golladay. You might be a swindler, but it feels like you're more of a Robinhood-type swindler, and I dig it.