Lions GM: Depth of receiver market led to no Golladay tag
The Detroit Lions decided against the franchise tag for Kenny Golladay after forecasting less demand for the former Pro Bowl wideout than he ultimately received.
"With how the market was shaping out with the depth, both in free agency and the draft, we opted to go the route of not tagging him," general manager Brad Holmes explained Monday, according to Chris Burke of The Athletic.
Golladay was considered a strong candidate for the franchise tag before free agency, but the Lions let him hit the market with no restrictions.
Holmes said the Lions considered tag-and-trade scenarios with Golladay. Detroit would have been stuck with a one-year contract for about $16 million had it tagged and failed to trade the wideout.
The 27-year-old signed a four-year, $72-million deal with the New York Giants in free agency, topping the annual average salary of the franchise tag. Other marquee receivers, including JuJu Smith-Schuster and Will Fuller, settled for smaller one-year contracts in light of the reduced salary cap and highly touted incoming rookie class.
Golladay eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark twice in four years with Detroit and led the NFL with 11 touchdown receptions in 2019.