The New York Giants had been optimistic that they avoided a worst-case scenario of sorts on Wednesday when new wide receiver Kenny Golladay injured his hamstring earlier this week. Now, that appears to be confirmed.
Pat Leonard of the Daily News reported on Thursday that Golladay is expected to miss between two and three weeks because of that hamstring issue, though the team is believed to be practicing an abundance of caution.
Understandably so given the amount of time there is to properly ramp him up between now and Week 1 next month. The 27-year-old is being looked upon as the Giants’ No. 1 receiver moving forward after he signed a four-year, $72 million deal in free agency after four seasons with the Detroit Lions.
At training camp earlier this week, Golladay appeared to injure his hamstring during a seven-on-seven drill that resulted in him immediately grabbing the back of his leg.
Golladay has a concerning injury history that raised some questions about the Giants breaking the bank to bring in the Northern Illinois product. He appeared in only five games last year, missing the first two weeks of the season with a hamstring issue before groin problems held him out through the final weeks.
There’s no denying that his big-play capabilities are there, though, which made him such an attractive target for the Giants, giving third-year quarterback Daniel Jones a legitimate outside target to look toward in an effort to stretch out the passing game.
In two years from 2018-2019, Golladay posted 135 receptions for 2,235 yards in 31 games with 16 touchdowns. That included a league-leading 11 scores in 2019 along with a robust 18.3 yards-per-reception mark.
Should Golladay adhere to Leonard’s reported timeline, he should be able to return toward the back half of August. The Giants meet the Cleveland Browns in preseason action on Aug. 22 before their exhibition finale one week later against the New England Patriots.
It remains to be seen if there will be a desire for the Giants to get him an abundance of preseason reps, but the most important date for him to get back into the swing of things will be on Sept. 12 for the season opener against the Denver Broncos.
