Golden and the Steelers agreed Wednesday to a one-year deal, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Golden was released by Arizona this offseason after struggling to make an impact in 2022, recording just 48 tackles and 2.5 sacks across 17 regular-season appearances. The 2015 second-round pick has three career double-digit sack campaigns, most recently in 2021, but he's totaled just 13.5 sacks in his other five seasons combined. In Pittsburgh, Golden will likely compete with rookie fourth-round pick Nick Herbig for snaps behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith.
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Markus Golden: Will be released
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The Cardinals are releasing Golden on Friday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.
Golden struggled to make an impact in 2022, posting just 48 tackles and 2.5 sacks across 17 regular-season appearances. His release will save the Cardinals approximately $3 million in cap space, per Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site. Golden posted 11 sacks during his first season back with Arizona in 2021 and has three career double-digit sack campaigns, so he could be an intriguing free agent and potential bounce-back candidate in 2023.
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Cardinals' Markus Golden: Receives one-year extension
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The Cardinals and Golden (toe) agreed to a one-year extension Friday, Field Yates of ESPN reports.
Golden is coming off the third double-digit sack tally (11, to be precise) of his seven-year career last season, and in the wake of Chandler Jones' departure this offseason, the former now stands as the top pass rusher for the Cardinals. Golden's status for Sunday's game against the Chiefs is in question after he missed the entire preseason slate and didn't get back on the field until Thursday. He clarified the reason for his extended absence Friday, telling Jose M. Romero of The Arizona Republic that he dropped "a 50-pound kettle ball" on his toe. Arizona's final practice report of Week 1 will give a sense of Golden's upcoming availability.
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Cardinals' Markus Golden: Game-time call for Sunday
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Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury said Monday that Golden (undisclosed) will be a game-day decision for Week 1, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.
The extent of the injury remains unclear, but Golden didn't appear in any of the Cardinals' preseason contests. The 2015 second-round pick recorded 48 tackles and 11 sacks last year, so his potential absence would be a big blow to Arizona's defense, which faces a stiff test against the Chiefs on Sunday.
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Cardinals' Markus Golden: Hits COVID list
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The Cardinals have placed Golden on the reserve/COVID-19 list, Darren Urban of the team's official website reports.
Golden's placement on the COVID list was the result of a positive test according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. He will need to clear the league's health and safety protocols prior to Sunday's matchup against the Cowboys in order to suit up. Devon Kennard would be a likely candidate to fill in for him at outside linebacker should he ultimately be unable to return.
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Cardinals' Markus Golden: Shifts to 53-man roster
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Golden was activated off the commissioner's exempt list Saturday and has joined the Cardinals' 53-man roster, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports.
The Cardinals traded for Golden last week, but he had a roster exemption until he cleared the COVID-19 protocols. He's been cleared and will begin preparing for the Week 9 matchup against the Dolphins. The team hopes Golden will bolster the pass rush that has taken a hit with Chandler Jones (biceps) done for the year. Golden certainly appears up to the task, as he produced 10 sacks over 16 games with the Giants in 2019.
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Giants' Markus Golden: Brings down Wentz in loss
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Golden notched one solo tackle, one sack and one quarterback hit during Thursday's 22-21 loss to the Eagles.
Golden played his usual rotational role in New York's pass rush Thursday, when he managed to emerge with his first full sack of the year. The 29-year-old has only 1.5 sacks on the season, and he's averaging less than two tackles per game, so Golden is difficult to trust for fantasy purposes in IDP leagues.
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Giants' Markus Golden: Signs tender with Big Blue
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Golden signed his one-year, $4.125 million unrestricted free-agent tender with the Giants on Tuesday, Zack Rosenblatt of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.
The little-used tag allowed Golden to seek another employer, but because he didn't get another offer by July 22, he was required to stay with the Giants. Now locked in for the 2020 season, he's the leading returning sack artist for the team, having racked up 10 sacks in 16 games, which was the second time he reached double-digit sacks while playing a full slate. As for his other three campaigns -- when he didn't -- he combined for 6.5 sacks in 30 contests.
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Giants' Markus Golden: Reports to camp
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Golden (illness) has reported to Giants training camp, Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com reports.
Before he can take part in the strength and conditioning portion of camp, Golden is required to log three negative COVID-19 tests in four days, at which point he'll take a physical and sign his unrestricted free-agent tender worth $4.125 million. For his career, he has two campaigns of double-digit sacks. As for the other three, he combined for 6.5 sacks in 30 games. After going for 10 sacks last season, Golden returns to the Giants looking to lead the team in the category for a second straight season.
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Giants' Markus Golden: Given UFA tender
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The Giants have placed the UFA tender on Golden, Field Yates of ESPN reports.
The terms of the UFA tender dictate that Golden can only play for the Giants in 2020 if no other team opts to sign him by July 22. He notched 72 tackles (37 solo) and 10 sacks across 16 games with New York in 2019, but it remains to be seen if the team's new coaching staff wants to utilize Golden as a starter or simply a rotational pass rusher.
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Giants' Markus Golden: Sack in loss
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Golden recorded seven tackles and a sack across 53 defensive snaps in Sunday's loss to the Lions.
Golden now has 34 tackles (18 solo) on the year to go along with six sacks, which leads the team. The veteran has played in 79 percent of the defensive snaps this season and is becoming an important cog in the Giants defense during his first season in New York.
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Giants' Markus Golden: Another sack Sunday
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Golden recorded two tackles and a half-sack across 30 defensive snaps in Sunday's win over Washington.
Golden now has 2.5 sacks over the past two weeks. If he continues to get after the quarterback at this rate, look for the linebacker to see his IDP value increase.
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Giants' Markus Golden: Two sacks Sunday
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Golden recorded five tackles (three solo) and two sacks across 61 defensive snaps in Sunday's win over the Buccaneers.
Golden has now taken down the quarterback three times over the past two contests and has quickly skyrocketed to the top of the Giants' sack leaderboard. He now gets to face Washington, who has allowed six sacks so far this season.
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Giants' Markus Golden: Practices in full
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Golden (hip) was a full participant in Thursday's practice, Dan Salomone of the Giants' official site reports.
Golden was limited in practice Wednesday with a hip issue. He now looks back to full health and ready to slot into the starting lineup with Kareem Martin managing a knee injury.
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Cardinals' Markus Golden: Wants to remain with Cardinals
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Golden (ankle) would prefer to stick with the Cardinals as an unrestricted free agent this offseason, Kyle Odegard of the team's official site reports. "I'd love to stay here and be an Arizona Cardinal for the rest of my career, because this is the team that believed in me and gave me a chance to play in the NFL," Golden said Monday.
After accounting for 16.5 sacks in his first two seasons, including a breakout 12.5-sack campaign in 2016, Golden has been bit by the injury bug the last two years. In 2017, he tore his ACL in Week 4, missing the rest of the year and the first two games of the most recent season. He returned to action Week 3, but three more DNPs dotted the remaining schedule en route to a disappointing 30 tackles and 2.5 sacks in 11 appearances. With fellow pass rusher Chandler Jones owed a hefty sum through 2021, the Cardinals likely won't consider bringing back Golden on anything other than a prove-it deal, especially with a strong crop of sack artists in the upcoming draft.
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Cardinals' Markus Golden: Will miss season finale
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Golden (ankle) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Seahawks, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.
Golden will miss his fifth game of the season. With Benson Mayowa (back) also inactive, Cameron Malveaux is the only healthy left defensive end on Arizona's roster.
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Cardinals' Markus Golden: Inactive for Sunday
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Golden (ankle) is inactive for Sunday's game against the Rams, Darren Urban of the team's official site reports.
Golden will remain sidelined as he nurses an undisclosed ankle injury. Expect Benson Mayowa to receive a notable uptick in snaps as long as Golden is unable to suit up.
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Cardinals' Markus Golden: Tallies sack Sunday
Rotowire
Golden recorded seven tackles (all solo), including a sack, in Sunday's win over San Francisco.
Golden doubled his tackle total on the year and notched his first full sack against the 49ers. He's dealt with injuries through the first half of the season but appears to be rounding back into form. He'll look to maintain his momentum against the Chiefs after the Cardinals' Week 9 bye.
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Cardinals' Markus Golden: Returning after long recovery
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Golden (knee) is listed as active Sunday versus the Bears, Darren Urban of the Cardinals' official site reports.
Nearly one year removed from tearing the ACL in his left knee, Golden's recovery has come full circle. Assuming he takes the field, he likely will have a limited snap count to ensure he doesn't put too much stress on the knee. That said, premier pass rusher Chandler Jones finally has a running mate to chase down opposing quarterbacks.
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Cardinals' Markus Golden: Questionable for Sunday
Rotowire
Golden (knee) is listed as questionable for Sunday's contest against the Bears, Scott Bordow of The Athletic reports.
The Cardinals seem to be optimistic that both Golden and Jermaine Gresham (Achilles) will return from serious injuries this weekend. In the case of Golden, he's almost one year removed from tearing the ACL in his right knee, which was finally sound enough for the pass rusher to log full practices this week. Still, the Cardinals don't have to reveal whether Golden will suit up until approximately 90 minutes before Sunday's 4:25 PM ET kickoff.
