Report: Former Cardinals pass rusher Markus Golden signing with Giants
Mar 14, 2019, 3:59 PM | Updated: 4:35 pm
Arizona Cardinals outside linebacker Markus Golden (44) lines up against the Green Bay Packers during an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 27, 2015, in Glendale, Ariz. (Jeff Haynes/AP Images for Panini)
(Jeff Haynes/AP Images for Panini)
Former Arizona Cardinals pass rusher Markus Golden is signing with the New York Giants, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
The former second-round pick out of Missouri in the 2015 NFL Draft had a breakout 2016 campaign, recording a team-high 12.5 sacks and forming a fearsome one-two pass-rushing punch with Chandler Jones.
The next year, though, Golden tore his ACL four games into the season. He did not appear to be the same player he once was when he returned last season, starting 11 games and finishing with 20 tackles and 2.5 sacks.
In New York, Golden will be reunited with former Cardinals and current Giants defensive coordinator James Bettcher. Golden’s terrific 2016 came under Bettcher, who was the Cardinals’ defensive coordinator from 2015-17 before taking the same position in New York last season.
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Golden is not the only former Cardinal moving to play under Bettcher. Safety Antoine Bethea was released by the Cardinals before the start of free agency and officially signed with the Giants on Thursday.
New Cardinals pass rusher Terrell Suggs is expected to be the primary replacement for Golden on the opposite side of Jones but was not an every-down player in Baltimore.
