Edge rusher Markus Golden had his rights revert to the New York Giants at 4 p.m. ET Wednesday, sources told ESPN’s Jordan Raanan.
Golden had previously been given the rare May 5 tender. He had until Wednesday, or the start of training camps, to sign a deal with another team. Otherwise his rights reverted to the Giants at 110% his 2019 salary.
The salary will be $4.125 million with another $1 million available if he hits double-digit sacks.
Golden led the Giants last year with 10 sacks. He does not intend to sign the tender at this time, a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Golden, 29, was perhaps the Giants’ best defensive player last season. He led the team in sacks, tackles for loss (13) and quarterback hits (27) while making $4.75 million on a one-year “prove-it” deal. The Giants don’t currently have a player on their roster who had more than 4.5 sacks last season.
Golden spent the first four years of his career with the Arizona Cardinals, but his time there was derailed by a knee injury that cost him the 2017 season. He returned in 2018 and finished with 2.5 sacks in 11 games, though he admitted he wasn’t himself as he recovered from the injury.
Golden had a bounce-back season with the Giants in 2019. It was the second time in his career that he reached double-digit sacks. He also did so in 2016, when he had 12.5 sacks in Arizona.
Giants rookies, quarterbacks and select veterans are scheduled to report Thursday. Veterans are due Tuesday.