The New York Giants are likely going to go into the 2020 season relying on Kyler Fackrell to be the sacks leader rather than Markus Golden, and as the offseason continues, there’s more signs from the front office pointing to no deal getting done with Golden, a current free agent who hasn’t had much luck on the market. Golden is still available for the Giants to sign, but there hasn’t been any reported progress in coming to a deal, and recent quotes from General Manager Dave Gettleman indicate that Golden is likely outside of the current plans of the team.
That’s because signing Golden to a long term deal now would hurt the Giants’ cap situation in the future, something that Getleman basically stated outright in a conference call on Monday where he referenced the number of young players that the Giants have, who will eventually need new contracts.
“Well, part of the tight rope that I walk on is short-term and long-term. Part of the long-term is we have some good, young players right now. We’ve got Dalvin Tomlinson, Engram, and Peppers. We have to make decisions on them. They’re some good, young players. After another year, you guys are going to be banging on me about Saquon,” Gettleman told the press.
He would go on to make a comparison to his time in Carolina and having to renew certain players or face backlash from the fans.
“I’d say, ‘Listen, you’re going to kill me about this? Well, you’re going to double kill me when we don’t have money to extend Luke Kuechly or Cam Newton or whomever.’ It’s a collaborative decision we make as we talk about how we’re moving forward. Right now, this is the decision we made. We’re just going to move forward the way we are now,” Gettleman said.
The Giants will have to rely on Kyler Fackrell as one of their main pass rushers this season if they don’t renew Golden, and Fackrell isn’t exactly a household name nor was he successful last season with the Packers. The Giants are banking on his past experience being useful to the team.
“(Kyler) Fackrell, two years ago, had double digit sacks and Green Bay went out and bought two high sack guys and he became a rotational part-time player. We feel good about that. You have to keep building, we are excited about the draft, there are some good players there. We are just going to continue to get better, nothing is ever done,” Gettleman said about Fackrell specifically.
There’s no room for Fackrell to not have a bounce back season this year – Golden was the undisputed top pass rusher on the Giants roster last season and if the Giants don’t have another player step up with the same production, they’ll easily be one of the worst teams in the league again in that area. The difference in the Giants picking up another win or two this season may just be whether or not their new pass rusher steps up.