The New York Giants placed the unrestricted free agent tender on linebacker Markus Golden in April. After going unsigned through July 22, Golden can only play for the Giants this season, and he has reported to training camp. He’ll make roughly $4.1 million in the 2020 NFL season.
Golden feels “good” about returning to North Jersey (quotes per Giants.com’s Dan Salomone).
“I feel good about being back. It’s a good place…At the end of the day, I love playing ball.”
After going unsigned for the bulk of the offseason, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post reported that Golden was “motivated” by his free agency failing to gain traction.
Golden feels that if people don’t know his game by now they’re “not worth proving it to.”
“If you don’t know what I can do by now, you’re not worth proving it to.”
Golden says he plays football for his family and “to win.”
“I play the game for my family. I play the game to win.”
The Giants signed Golden to a one-year deal last offseason. He played off the edge and started 16 games for the Giants. Golden totaled 72 combined tackles, 10 sacks and 27 quarterback hits. For his career, the Missouri product has totaled 191 combined tackles, 29 sacks and 69 quarterback hits.
Among the new faces in the team’s edge rotation is Kyler Fackrell, who the Giants signed to a one-year, $4.6 million deal in free agency. The former Green Bay Packers pass rusher is a season removed from totaling 10.5 sacks and played under new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham in 2018 (Graham was the Packers inside linebackers coach and defensive run game coordinator in 2018).
The Giants selected Penn State’s Cam Brown with the 183rd pick and Minnesota’s Carter Coughlin with the 218th pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. They also have third-year player Lorenzo Carter and second-year player Oshane Ximines returning. Carter and Ximines totaled a combined 70 tackles and nine sacks in 2019.