Most New York Giants fans are asking why the team hasn’t made an offer to edge rusher Markus Golden in free agency. After all, didn’t he “prove it” with his performance after signing a one-year, “prove-it” deal last year?
Golden came in and had a statistically satisfying 72 tackles, 10 sacks, one fumble recovery and one defensive touchdown last season, which should have been enough for the Giants to instantly float him an offer.
But that hasn’t happened. Golden is still on the market and interest in him has been eerily quiet.
Here’s a bit of insight from Rotoworld on why Golden is still sitting by the phone:
Previously ESPN’s Josina Anderson reported OLB Markus Golden “has interest in returning to the Giants, but will also endeavor to test free agency.” A source also told Raanan, “The $10 million is gone. Don’t think he’s getting [$8 million]. But it won’t be too far off.” Golden racked up 10 sacks in his bounce-back 2019 campaign, but ultimately graded out as PFF’s No. 88 overall edge defender among 124 qualified players. The 29-year-old pass rusher will almost assuredly have a home in 2020, although it might not include the type of money he was hoping for.
The Giants may be interested in Golden but its difficult to tell. They apparently aren’t willing to meet his asking price and they probably won’t.
Instead, they’ve decided to go with former Green Bay Packer linebacker Kyler Fackrell, whose story is very similar to what Golden’s was last year. Fackrell was also once a sack artist that fell out of favor with his former team and was inked to a one-year, $4.6 million deal last month by the Giants.
And, just like Golden was last year when James Bettcher was the defensive coordinator, he is familiar with the system having played under Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham in Green Bay.
The new regime in East Rutherford may not hold Golden in as high a regard as the former one, and now with more resources allocated to Fackrell and two other linebackers (Blake Martinez, David Mayo) the Giants could be done seeking veteran linebacker help.
They are still hopeful that Lorenzo Carter and Oshane Ximines will continue to develop, so Golden could be seen as a redundancy or a player that simply does not fit, especially at the price they would have to pay for him.
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