Giants Retain Negotiating Rights with Markus Golden
Veteran edge rusher Markus Golden's deadline to sign with another team has passed, meaning his negotiating rights belong exclusively to the Giants for 2020.
Golden must first sign the UFA tender before he can officially join the Giants this year. According to the new CBA, he has until 4:00 PM ET Tuesday following the tenth week of the regular season.
According to Article 9, Section 1bii, if Golden does not sign his UFA tender by that deadline, "the player shall be prohibited from playing football in the NFL for the remainder of that League Year, absent a showing to the Impartial Arbitrator of extreme Club or extreme personal hardship."
Golden, the Giants sack leader last season with 10, was an unrestricted free agent who last year played on a one-year contract worth $3.75 million, not including the $1 million incentive he received when he reached double-digit sacks.
Golden had hoped to land a lucrative multi-year deal after proving to the league that he was fully recovered from a torn ACL suffered on October 1, 2017. But interest was reportedly lukewarm for the 29-year-old pass rusher, who remained unsigned after the draft.
The Giants had not given up hope of having Golden back on their defense but were unwilling to spend premium dollars on a player who they might have viewed as a complementary piece rather than a featured player.
They applied the seldom-used UFA tender on Golden in which, had he signed with another team, he might have brought the Giants a compensatory pick next year, despite such a transaction occurring after the cutoff date.
The tender, once signed, will pay Golden 110% of his 2019 base salary, not including the $1 million performance escalator for reaching double-digit sacks. That means Golden, unless he chooses to sit out the season, will return to the Giants for the "bargain" price of $4.125 million.
Golden started all 16 games for the Giants last season. In addition to his ten sacks, he tallied 27 total quarterback hits, 72 total tackles and returned a fumble for a touchdown against the Patriots in Week 6.
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Patricia Traina contributed to this report.
