The Bears are set to take on the Giants in Week 4, both teams have a 2-1 record and will battle it out to see who will move to 3-1 on the season. Saquon Barkley and Khalil Herbert are both looking to stay hot in Week 4
The New York Giants are preparing to find another suitor for wide receiver Kenny Golladay in the trade market, according to NFL Network's insider Ian Rapoport. Should the Bears explore the option of trading for him? Definitely not.
Golladay signed with the Giants after four seasons with the Detroit Lions, where in his penultimate year, he recorded over 1,000 yards receiving and tied league leaders with 11 touchdown catches. The following season, he landed on season-ending IR with a hip flexor injury, but he proved his worth as a starting receiver.
In the summer of 2021, he signed a lucrative four-year, $72 million deal with the Giants. He got paid, but in return, he hasn't paid back.
During his first season, Golladay played in 14 games and recorded a lowly 521 receiving yards and zero touchdowns. Now, through three weeks of the 2022 season, he has two receptions for 22 yards. He's posted a sub-50 percent catch rate since joining the Giants, the worst of his career by a large margin.
Bringing both ends together, the Bears have obvious needs in their pass-catching core. Darnell Mooney and Cole Kmet have been effectively useless this season, combining for six catches and 67 yards. Plus, the group is riddled with injuries. Byron Pringle and N'Keal Harry are both on injured reserve and Velus Jones Jr. has yet to play a game due to a hamstring injury.
RELATED: Bears place WR Byron Pringle on IR for calf injury
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Despite the Bears' troubles at wide receiver, Golladay is not the answer the team is looking for.
His contract is way higher than general manager Ryan Poles would prefer to spend. The Giants signed him to an unattractive deal that guarantees him $40 million. He's not even halfway through the contract and any team who trades for him would have to eat his money for another two years and hope he can turn his performance around.
Further, Golladay hasn't shown any promise of becoming a viable starting receiver since leaving the NFC North. His production is the lowest it's ever been in his career. And, the Giants have started him in one game this season.
This is a no-brainer restraint. Let any calls from Giants GM Joe Schoen go straight to voicemail.
The Bears are waiting until next offseason to start spending money. They're expected to have one of the largest budgets of any NFL team next summer. This season, they're carrying the third-most dead cap in the league after cutting ties with plenty of the roster, putting them in financial handcuffs.
If the Bears want to clean up their wide receiver group, there are plenty of serviceable receivers they could chase in free agency. Odell Beckham Jr., Will Fuller, John Ross and Cole Beasley are some examples. It's likely the Bears' front office could snatch a reliable veteran to a short-term, minimal value deal to fill the gaps.
Despite Golladay's native to Chicago, I don't expect him to play football here and neither should Bears fans.
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