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Dave Gettleman has endured his fair share of criticism at the helm of the New York Giants. However, he’s also hit a few home runs during his short stint with the organization as well, drafting Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones being the most glaring.
However, arguably his best non-draft related personnel move with the team to date may very well be signing Markus Golden to a one-year prove-it deal this past offseason. Golden certainly proved it, compiling the first double-digit sacks season by a Giants defender since Jason Pierre-Paul back in 2014.
Now Golden wants to be paid for his production, and he’s reportedly willing to go elsewhere if the Giants don’t compensate him the way he feels his on-field performance warrants.
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Markus Golden Plans to Test Free Agency
According to ESPN’s Josina Anderson, pass rusher Markus Golden “has interest in returning to the Giants,” but that won’t stop him from testing the market this offseason.
Many believe Golden will warrant a contract between the $10M-$12M range per year. While NJ.com went as far as predicting a four year, $54.08M, $13.5M average annual salary in the defender’s future.
Golden was at one time one of the league’s brightest young sack artists. In 2016, in just his second season as a member of the Arizona Cardinals, he recorded 12.5 sacks, tied for third-most in the NFL that year.
However, knee injuries derailed his next two seasons, leading the Cardinals to move on from him following 2018.
With his career in limbo, his former defensive coordinator in Arizona, James Bettcher, who at the time was serving in the same role with the Giants, banged the table for New York to sign Golden to a contract in free agency. New York took a chance on him, and the rest is history.
Giants Linked to Numerous Pass Rushers
While the Giants would undoubtedly welcome back Golden with open arms, he doesn’t appear to be the only pass rusher they have their sights set on this offseason.
Jadeveon Clowney has been pegged by many as a perfect match for the Giants defense, and is expected to garner the team’s interest in free agency.
Yannick Ngakoue has also been a popular name in Giants circles, as the Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end has seemingly flirted back and forth with Big Blue all offseason.
Prior to Ngakoue being franchise-tagged, reports claimed that the Giants would have been highly interested in the star defender would he have hit free agency. While new reports have gone as far as to state that Ngakoue “wants to be a New York Giant,” ramping up speculation of a trade between the two franchises.
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