Getty Wideout Kenny Golladay is still a free agent.
Would it be beneficial for the Chicago Bears to sign veteran free agent wide receiver Kenny Golladay off the street?
You can count Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder among those who think Chicago could benefit from signing the former Detroit Lions winger.
The Bears have struggled to fill the WR3 spot behind DJ Moore and Darnell Mooney. Chase Claypool didn’t work out, rookie Tyler Scott’s inexperience showed at times, and Velus Jones Jr. didn’t earn a spot on the roster, which is why he ended up being a healthy backup for the team’s Week 10 game against the Carolina Panthers.
“The Bears were hoping that Chase Claypool could be their competitive catcher, but that didn’t work out. “They could still use someone who can fill that role, and a 50/50 ball rate was Golladay’s calling card in Detroit,” Holder wrote on Nov. 13.
Adding another WR wouldn’t hurt, especially if one was cheap. Golladay meets these criteria.
Kenny Golladay is no longer the player he once was
Golladay, 30, spent his first four years with the Lions and was named to the Pro Bowl in 2019. That year, he led the NFL in receiving touchdowns (11), and he had two consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in 2018 and 2019. His best season statistically was 2019, when he caught 65 passes for 1,190 yards.
Due to hamstring and hip injuries, he was only able to play five games in the following 2020 season, but his play so far intrigued the New York Giants so much that they signed the wideout to a lucrative contract.
Golladay signed a four-year contract with New York in 2021 worth up to $72 million. However, his time in the Big Apple didn’t go so well. In his first year with the Giants, he played in 14 games (14 starts), catching 37 passes for 521 yards (14.1 yards per reception) and no touchdowns.
The veteran wideout played in 12 games (four starts) for the Giants last season, catching six passes on 17 targets for 81 yards (13.5 yards per catch) and a touchdown. Golladay never seemed to work well with Giants head coach Brian Daboll, who was hired in 2022. Therefore, his release in March 2022 was not a big surprise.
Since then he has not found a connection with another team. Should the Bears be that team?
Should Bears consider signing another WR?
With seven games remaining in the regular season, Chicago still has plenty of time to take a look at the veteran receiver.
Throughout his career, Golladay has been a solid big-play threat (he averaged 16.2 yards per catch in his six years in the NFL). He’s far more effective than Claypool and, at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, has the size that’s missing from the Bears’ WR room.
He has also proven to be a solid blocker – a special trait that Claypool lacked.
“While his time in New York was a complete disaster, Chicago doesn’t have much to lose at this point and could use the next seven weeks as an extended tryout for the wideout to see if he’s worth keeping for the future “Holder added.
That’s an interesting thought. If Golladay doesn’t have a lot of money – and he probably doesn’t at this point in the season – it might be worth signing him to Chicago. The Bears need to use the latter part of the regular season to further evaluate quarterback Justin Fields, and adding another deep threat might not hurt that process.
Golladay isn’t the best receiver, although he could probably make a few more plays. It will be interesting to see if the Bears give him a chance.