One of the 24 players on the Arizona Cardinals who will be a free agent in March is Markus Golden. Signs point toward his landing with another team but a return to the Cardinals is possible.
“My agent’s been talking to them, on and off, during the season, so I never cut out the possibility of returning,” Golden said on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “We’ll see how it works out, man.”
The word on the street is the Cardinals would like to re-sign him to a one-year deal. After a 12.5-sack 2016, he has had 2.5 combined in the last two seasons. He had zero in 2017 when he tore his ACL and 2.5 in 2018 as he returned from the injury and was playing as a 4-3 defensive end for the first time since college.
He would like to return to the 3-4.
“I love being that outside linebacker in the 3-4,” he said. “I feel like it frees you up a little more and you can help a lot during the game.”
The Cardinals are returning to a 3-4, so there is that fit.
Arizona has the first pick in the draft and many believe they will select a player like Nick Bosa or Josh Allen, both of whom are edge defenders like Golden.
Golden likely will seek a multi-year deal and an opportunity to get playing time.
Will he get that in Arizona? It seems unlikely.
Two potential matches for him are the New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. New York’s defensive coordinator is James Bettcher, for whom Golden played when he had his big 2016 season. The Bucs are coached by Bruce Arians.
A return to Arizona likely will only happen if he doesn’t find a better situation elsewhere. He isn’t ruling out Arizona because he would return if he doesn’t have the chance to get more money or a starting job elsewhere.
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