2020 July - Pro Football Rumors

No Offers For Giants’ Markus Golden?

July 1st, 2020 at 9:53am CST by Zachary Links

Thanks to the rarely used unrestricted free agent tender, Giants edge rusher Markus Golden has a one-year, $4.125MM offer on the table. Or, he can sign with a new club between now and the upcoming deadline. So far, it doesn’t sound like the former second-round pick has received any outside offers, according to Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.

Golden has until July 22nd or the start of training camp (whichever date comes later) to ink the Giants’ one-year placeholder. At last check, the NFL is aiming to start camp on July 28th, which gives him an extra week to scare up a deal.

The former second-rounder showed flashes during his four seasons in Arizona, including a 12.5-sack season in 2016. Then, he was hampered by injuries. After he landed a one-year, $3.75MM deal with the Giants last year, he turned in a fully healthy season with 72 tackles and 10 sacks. Those numbers would usually spell lucrative offers, but teams probably see Golden’s sack numbers as a fluke, The 29-year-old generated just 26 pressures last year, an indicator that he might not repeat with double-digit sack totals in 2020.

It’s possible that Golden’s market has also stalled by the continued availability of edge rushers Jadeveon Clowney and Everson Griffen. If those veterans come off the board, other teams in need could turn to Golden, who would represent a less splashy – but less costly – alternative.

Chiefs’ Chris Jones Threatening Holdout?

July 1st, 2020 at 9:35am CST by Zachary Links

On Tuesday night, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo estimated that Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones wouldn’t bite on an extension worth anything less than $20MM per year. Moments later, his gut feeling was confirmed by Jones himself.

“Or I won’t play,” Jones tweeted. “[Le’Veon Bell] told me about this.”

Jones, of course, is referencing Bell’s messy final year with the Steelers. In 2018, the Steelers placed a second straight tag on Bell worth $14.5MM. Bell, meanwhile, wanted a long-term deal to reflect his combined value as an elite running back and a WR2 caliber receiver. When he didn’t get what he wanted, he held out for the entire season.

The following year, Bell got a five-year, $52.5MM deal from the Jets with $35MM guaranteed. It was a decent-sized deal for sure, but still shy of Bell’s original asking price and short of the throne for the league’s highest-paid RB mantle. Also, Bell lost out on a full year of salary.

If Jones stays away from the Chiefs and holds out during the regular season, he’d be losing more than $1MM per game. Still, the 25-year-old seems dead set on getting the deal he wants. Last year, Jones graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 7 ranked interior defensive lineman in the league and notched nine sacks. In 2018, when he saw more time on the edge, he registered 15.5 sacks. Jones understands his free market value and he says he won’t settle for less, or risk catastrophic injury in the interim.

Currently, the defensive tackle market is led by Aaron Donald ($22.5MM/year) and DeForest Buckner ($21MM/year). Meanwhile, Bears superstar Khalil Mack ($23MM AAV) leads all defensive players in average annual value.