Judge: Giants Still Interested in Re-signing Markus Golden

In case the Giants' interest in re-signing unrestricted free agent edge rusher Markus Golden wasn't made clear when the team dusted off the seldom-used UFA tender earlier in the month on him, head coach Joe Judge verified the team's desire.

"I have a lot of respect for him as a player. He's a great person, he's a hard worker," Judge told reporters during a video teleconference Tuesday.

"He's a productive player, so we have a lot of respect for him. He's definitely someone that I have spoken to in terms of possibly adding to the roster."

Last season, Golden, playing on a one-year "prove it" deal became the first Giants defender to record double-digit sacks (10.0) since defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul recorded 12.5 in 2014.

Golden also became the first Giants linebacker to hit double-digit sacks since the great Lawerence Taylor put up 10.5 in 1990.

Despite that production, the market for Golden's services this year has been lukewarm at best, not just in terms of the Giants' interest, but around the league. There was a report last month that the Lions had some interest in Golden, but if so, nothing materialized.

The Giants, perhaps recognizing what a solid locker room presence Golden was last year and in realizing that he was the most consistent in terms of getting home against opposing quarterbacks, have been unwilling to spend a huge amount on any pass rusher.

Golden's asking price isn't known, but it's probably a safe bet that it's much more than the one-year $3.75 million deal he inked with the Giants last season.

One possible reason for the Giants' reluctance to spend on Golden could be that they currently have over $16 million tied up in defensive lineman Leonard Williams, who last month signed the franchise tag.

The Giants, who per the NFLPA public cap report have $16,609,755 left in space (this before signing their rookie class), likely don't feel they are in a position to pay premium dollars for Golden, which per Spotrac, average at least $10 million per year.

Instead, the Giants, by using the UFA tender, can retain Golden's services for only a 10% raise from his salary last season, excluding the $1 million performance incentive bonus he picked up for reaching ten sacks.

For that to happen, Golden would have to remain unsigned by July 22.

And if he does sign with another team before that date, the Giants would probably receive a 2021 NFL compensatory pick in having lost him since the UFA tender counts against the comp pick formula even though the actual signing will have occurred after the original deadline.

"We thought that it was a situation when it came up and was available to us, it was something we could use," Judge said in explaining why the team used the UFA tag.

"We have an interest in Markus. We've talked to him," Judge confirmed, declining to elaborate on the nature of the conversations. "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."