The Giants are considering bringing back Markus Golden for the 2020 season.
Golden led the team in sacks last season, he’s also still a free agent. The market hasn’t panned out for Golden the way he may have hoped. The Giants have been paying attention and there’s been dialogue between both sides.
Head coach Joe Judge, on a Zoom interview with the media, confirmed the Giants have been in touch with Golden.
“We have an interest in Markus, we’ve talked to him,” Judge said. “We are going through the procedure right now. We’re going to let it play out a little bit and see where everything shakes out.”
The Giants have been strategic in their approach with Golden this offeason. Once it became apparent there was a legitimate chance to bring him back, it’s been an almost stealth-like mission to explore the options.
They recently placed a seldom-used unrestricted free agent tender on Golden. If he does not sign with another team by July 22, he can play only for the Giants this year. And if he does sign with another team prior to that date, the Giants will likely receive a compensatory selection in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Golden’s 10.0 sacks led the team last season. That was more than twice as any of his teammates had. He came up big for a defense that struggled to consistently produce.
“We placed the tag on him, that’s something that’s allotted to us through the league rules,” Judge said. “We thought that it was a situation when it came up and was available to us, it was something we could use.”
Indeed, a smooth business move by Judge and general manager Dave Gettleman.
