The Detroit Lions did not use their franchise tag on wide receiver Kenny Golladay, clearing the way for him to enter free agency.
Golladay heading to the open market means the Lions will likely completely overhaul their receiver corps. Marvin Jones, Danny Amendola and Jamal Agnew are also scheduled to be free agents, taking the majority of the team's receiver reps from a season ago. Detroit officially signed Tyrell Williams on Tuesday to help remake its receiver room.
Last week, Detroit general manager Brad Holmes called Golladay a player who has shown he can be a top receiver.
"I don't think there's any debate that Kenny has shown the ability to be a No. 1 receiver in this league," Holmes said. "With that skill set that everybody knows that he has, we all know that he has, and being where we're at from a roster standpoint, there's also been no debate that Kenny has been at the forefront of our minds in terms of making sure that we make the best possible decision for not only the Lions but for Kenny."
Golladay emerged as the Lions' top receiving option the past three seasons, including a Pro Bowl berth in 2019, when he amassed 1,190 yards and 11 touchdowns. He had hoped to improve on that in 2020, but hamstring and hip injuries limited him to five games and just 20 catches for 338 yards and two touchdowns.
A third-round pick by the Lions out of Northern Illinois in 2017, Golladay played in 47 games for Detroit, making 183 catches for 3,068 yards and 21 touchdowns.
Golladay, who is 27, reiterated in December that his preference would be to remain in Detroit. Of course, this was also before the trade of Matthew Stafford and the hiring of Holmes and new coach Dan Campbell. Golladay did say then that his decision could be influenced by what the offense looked like -- and by whether Stafford was still with Detroit.
"They drafted me here, so I just want to show my loyalty," Golladay said. "They believed in me. If a contract [with the Lions] ... doesn't work out, it doesn't work out, you know. Then I go somewhere else and just ball out and play."