Former Giants Set to Return to MetLife
The Arizona Cardinals have no shortage of urgency heading into their Week 14 road matchup against the Giants on Sunday, as they look to break a three-game losing streak and reclaim the seventh seed in the NFC playoff picture.
The game against the Giants at MetLife Stadium will also serve as a homecoming of sorts for four Cardinals players who have previous ties to the Giants, two of which were drafted by the Giants.
Cardinals edge rushers Markus Golden and Devon Kennard, defensive lineman Josh Mauro, and offensive guard Justin Pugh will make their return to the Meadowlands for this pivotal matchup against their former team.
Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury has made the most out of the former Giants so far this season and is grateful to have them on his roster going into the matchup on Sunday.
"They’ve been awesome," Kingsbury said of the former Giants. "All three are leaders on this team, high character guys, bring it every day at work, couldn’t be more impressed by what they brought.
Golden led the Giants in sacks in 2019 with ten after signing with the team last offseason. But despite returning to the Giants in 2020 on a one-year exclusive rights franchise tender, Golden wasn't utilized the same way under the new coaching staff and was seen as an expendable player ahead of the trade deadline.
Since returning to Arizona, Golden has seen a much more significant role starting each of the team's last four games and has racked up one sack, eight quarterback hits, and 11 tackles for the Cardinals since the trade.
Golden will now get his first licks against the Giants but will be going up a much more efficient offensive line than the one was teamed up with back at the start of the season.
Golden was the only player of the three to be acquired under the leadership of Giants general manager Dave Gettleman. Kennard and Pugh were brought in under the previous regime led by former general manager Jerry Reese.
"Just getting Markus here a couple of weeks ago, he showed up, as you all know he’s high energy, loves to play ball and so he’s brought a lot of juice to that defense," Kingsbury said.
Pugh, whom the Giants drafted in the first round out of Syracuse back in 2013, will be part of that Cardinals offensive line.
Pugh, who predominantly filled in at left guard during his stint with the Giants, was arguably the team's best offensive lineman during the bulk of his tenure in New York.
However, his performance wasn't enough to offset the units' overarching struggles, and was not retained by Gettleman's regime in 2018.
Pugh has started 28 consecutive games for the Cardinals dating back to last season and has been a core contributor at left guard in Arizona's high octane offense, which ranks sixth in the NFL.
Pugh has also taken part in an offensive line strategy similar to that of his former team, as the Cardinals have followed the Giants unusual method of rotating offensive linemen throughout games.
Pugh only played 73% of offensive snaps last week against the Los Angeles Rams and rotated with backup Justin Murray in a rotation that has seemingly mirrored what the Giants have done with their offensive line this season.
"Pugh’s been one of our steadiest players since I got here, does a tremendous job leading that offensive line group," Kingsbury said.
Kennard will square off against his former team for the second time on Sunday. Kennard, a fifth-round pick out of USC in 2014, played his first four seasons for the Giants before joining the Detroit Lions in 2018.
Last year, when the Giants went on the road to face the Lions, Kennard scooped up a fumble by quarterback Daniel Jones and returned it for the game's first touchdown.
"It was a lot of fun,” Kennard said of scoring against his former team after the game. “It was my first time scoring since high school, so touching the paint and getting in the end zone was a lot of fun for me."
Now Kennard will get his first action against the Giants with his new team and will look to replicate the impact he had in last year's matchup in Detroit.
Kennard hasn't been a full-time starter for Arizona, only playing nine games this season with four starts while racking up two sacks this season.
However, getting to play against his former team could prove to give Kennard a jolt just as it did last year.
"Kennard) being with us has been great," said Kingsbury. "First-class guys all the way around."
Mauro spent one "blink and you'll miss it" season with the Giants in 2018. He was suspended four games for a PED violation that season.
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