New Kenny Golladay hamstring injury after benching casts doubt on usage
Kenny Golladay got benched last Sunday after a bad second quarter drop. Now he’s listed with a new hamstring injury and limited at Giants practice approaching Sunday’s game against his old team, the Detroit Lions (3-6).
Golladay got stretched out by a trainer on the sideline Wednesday before jogging through reps with the first-team offense during the open portion of practice.
But given his recurring injuries and lack of production, it wouldn’t be a shock if he were back out of the lineup this Sunday altogether.
Head coach Brian Daboll, asked if Golladay has to earn his way back into the lineup, said he will approach this week no differently than any other. He did not dispute the question’s premise.
“To me, it’s the same every week when we go through practice,” Daboll said. “We practice Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. Then we sit down Friday and decide exactly what we’re going to do — give everybody reps. Go week by week.”
Daboll was asked if he has felt the need to speak to Golladay, after the receiver reflected on Sunday that he is going through the most personally challenging stretch of his career.
“I’d say Kenny’s a pro,” the coach said. “He comes in, works hard, listens in the meetings, goes through the walk throughs [and] practices. He’s been a pro.”
The Giants listed Kadarius Toney as out with a new hamstring injury for his final three games with the team before trading him to Kansas City on Oct. 28. But Toney said after the trade that he wasn’t actually hurt, and he already has scored his first NFL touchdown with the Chiefs.
The NFL did not respond to a request for comment on whether the league would investigate the discrepancy alleged by Toney.
Golladay is not Toney. He has come to work this season and done his job.
“Just go to work each work,” Golladay said Sunday, when asked about how to respond.
However, his bad drop on Sunday coincided with the emergence of newcomer Isaiah Hodgins, who made two catches for 41 yards. Plus, the coaches like Marcus Johnson despite his drops.
David Sills is available after being inactive Sunday. And Robert Foster is one of a few receivers on the practice squad who could get a call-up if needed.
Golladay obviously would love to turn his season around against his former Lions team. He starred for Detroit as a 2017 third-round pick out of Northern Illinois. He had two 1,000-yard seasons, including 65 catches in 2019 for career highs in yards (1,190) and TDs (11).
It remains to be seen if he can power through this latest injury, and if Daboll intends to dress him for this game at all.
CAMPBELL SOUPED UP
Daboll said he will never forget interviewing Lions head coach Dan Campbell for the Miami Dolphins tight ends coach job in 2011 when Daboll was the offensive coordinator under the late Tony Sparano.
“It was a great interview,” Daboll said. “He’s slamming chairs on the ground and hitting walls and going through all these drills. You guys know him; he’s a fantastic person, great family. It was an entertaining interview… He was out of breath in half that interview with the stuff he was doing.”
Campbell got the job, and Daboll said “he was there the next day at 5:30 power cleaning and squatting” in the weight room. Campbell, a 10-year NFL tight end, was a Giants 1999 third-round pick. He’s in year two in Detroit, with a 6-19-1 record and a 3-6 mark this year.
JACKED UP
Daboll said he regrets that he eviscerated backup O-lineman Jack Anderson on the sideline early in last Sunday’s second quarter. Anderson’s 4th and 1 false start penalty on Houston’s 36-yard line prevented the Giants from going for the first down. They had to punt instead. CBS cameras caught Daboll lacing into Anderson when he got to the bench.
“You see it after and you’re like, ‘I wish I didn’t do that’, sometimes,” Daboll said. “I wear my emotions on my sleeve, and I’ve told Jack that … I understand mistakes happen and I’ve got a lot of confidence in Jack. … At that particular time, I [was] just, not happy and whatever I say I say. I think I apologized later.”
Daboll said he doesn’t like that he explodes sometimes but “that’s me.”
GIANTS INJURY REPORT – Did not participate: DT Dexter Lawrence (back/resting player), edge Kayvon Thibodeaux (illness), TE Daniel Bellinger (eye). Limited: WR Golladay (hamstring), WR Wan’Dale Robinson (hamstring), S Dane Belton (clavicle), OL Evan Neal (knee), edge Jihad Ward (thumb).
Notes: Thibodeaux was not at the team facility. Illness is something to monitor given the time of year, for both Thibodeaux and the rest of the team … Belton broke his collarbone in training camp and struggled in the win over Houston, outside of a late interception. So that’s a position to monitor, as well. It will be interesting to see how long it takes recent signing Terrell Burgess, 24 — a former Rams third-round pick — to acclimate to the new scheme … Corner Rodarius Williams has been activated off injured reserve. He said he’s never spent this long away from the game of football — due to a torn ACL last year and a bone spur in his knee this year — and he’s aiming to make sure an opponent feels his presence once he returns to the field.
LIONS INJURY REPORT – Did not participate: RB Jamaal Williams (illness), C Frank Ragnow (foot), T Taylor Decker (resting veteran), WR Josh Reynolds (back), WR Trinity Benson (knee), DL Josh Pascal (knee). Limited: S DeShon Elliott (concussion protocol). Full: RB D’Andre Swift (ankle/shoulder), CB Chase Lucas (ankle), S Ifeatu Melifonwu (ankle), T Matt Nelson (calf), LB Malcolm Rodriguez (elbow).
