Giants Trade LB Markus Golden To Cardinals
Hours after their loss to the Eagles, the Giants are dealing away a key defender. They will send Markus Golden back to the Cardinals.
The Cardinals announced they have reacquired Golden in exchange for a 2021 sixth-round pick. Originally a Cards second-rounder, Golden signed with the Giants in 2019 and stayed in New York via UFA tender this offseason. The Cardinals will be on the hook for the remaining $2.6MM of Golden’s UFA tender salary.
Golden has rebounded from the ACL tear that docked his stock in his first Cardinals stay. He led the Giants with 10 sacks last season; in 2020, the 29-year-old edge defender has 1.5 sacks and six QB hits. Golden will head back to a different Cardinals coaching staff, but Steve Keim knows him well from being the GM that drafted him five years ago.
The Cardinals are in better shape than they were when Golden was last with the team. Golden finished his first Arizona stint during the Steve Wilks-led 3-13 season. The Cardinals are now 4-2 under Kliff Kingsbury. And they carried a clear edge need after losing Chandler Jones for the season. Golden, who registered a career-high 12.5 sacks for the 2016 Cards, will now help fill that void.
This trade could double as a chance for Golden to submit quality work ahead of another free agency bid — after limited interest came his way in 2019 or ’20 — and contribute to a potential playoff run. He is due to return to free agency in 2021. Golden obviously cannot do a Thursday-Sunday double, with trade acquisitions needing to pass six COVID-19 tests — each at least 24 hours apart — before practicing with their new teams.
This could be the first of multiple pre-deadline deals for the Giants, who fell to 1-6 despite holding a two-score lead over the Eagles in the fourth quarter Thursday. Although they used the rare UFA tender to retain Golden, they were deploying him as mostly a pass rush specialist. Golden played just 36% of Big Blue’s defensive snaps this season.
Zeitler, Tate Drawing Trade Interest
- While this year’s NFC East could be historically bad, the Giants are 1-6 and in a seller’s position again. They have fielded calls on Kevin Zeitler and Golden Tate, according to Breer. Tate has been a deadline chip before, with the Lions sending him to the Eagles in 2018. Tate’s through-2022 contract, thanks to a PED suspension in 2019, contains no more guaranteed money. Zeitler’s deal runs through 2021. The upper-echelon guard has more than $5MM in salary remaining this season and is due a $12MM base in 2021. The Giants acquired Zeitler via trade in 2019.
Thomas Back In Good Standing With Giants
- Although Joe Judge was interestingly noncommittal about Andrew Thomas‘ status earlier this week, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that the No. 4 overall pick is in good standing with the Giants and will start at left tackle Thursday night. The Giants used third-round rookie Matt Peart as their left tackle starter against Washington, making the change because Thomas violated a team rule. Thomas played just 22 snaps in Big Blue’s win. Through six games, Pro Football Focus slots Thomas 61st among tackles — behind three tackles that were taken after him in this year’s first round.
- Although Joe Judge was interestingly noncommittal about Andrew Thomas‘ status earlier this week, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets that the No. 4 overall pick is in good standing with the Giants and will start at left tackle Thursday night. The Giants used third-round rookie Matt Peart as their left tackle starter against Washington, making the change because Thomas violated a team rule. Thomas played just 22 snaps in Big Blue’s win. Through six games, Pro Football Focus slots Thomas 61st among tackles — behind three tackles that were taken after him in this year’s first round.
- The Giants worked out a familiar player Thursday. They brought former first-round pick Corey Coleman back for an audition/checkup. The Giants re-signed Coleman in March but cut him ahead of the regular season. Coleman tore an ACL during the team’s 2019 training camp and has not played since.
Giants Activate Sterling Shepard From IR
The Giants are on track to have their top three wide receivers available Thursday night. They activated Sterling Shepard from IR ahead of their Week 7 game.
Shepard has been out since Week 2 because of turf toe. Should Darius Slayton be given the green light after getting in two limited practices this week, Daniel Jones‘ starting wideouts — Shepard, Slayton and Golden Tate — will be in uniform together for just the second game this season.
Tate missed Week 1, and Shepard left Big Blue’s Week 2 game. Slayton left the team’s Week 6 win but remains a decent bet to play tonight. Shepard has been the least available of the Giants receivers in the team’s post-Odell Beckham Jr. era. He missed six games last season because of two separate concussions. His return tonight will be a welcome sight for Daniel Jones, who has not played especially well this season.
The second-year quarterback ranks 24th in QBR and has thrown one touchdown pass in the Giants’ past five games. Shepard’s return should help the cause, but the fifth-year wideout (and the Giants’ longest-tenured player) has struggled to stay on the field since signing a four-year, $41MM extension in 2019. In 2018, Shepard established new career-high marks with 66 receptions and 872 yards. The final half of the season will be key for Shepard and Jones’ rapport.
The Giants also promoted wide receiver Alex Bachman and linebacker Trent Harris ahead of their Eagles matchup.
Giants' Dave Gettleman On Hot Seat?
Although the Giants are just one game back of the NFC East lead, they are 1-5 and appear on the verge of their fourth straight double-digit loss season. GM Dave Gettleman has presided over the previous two 10-plus-loss campaigns, and some around the league have tabbed the Giants GM job as a potential opening ahead of the 2021 offseason, Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com note. The Panthers‘ GM spot has also surfaced around the NFL as one to monitor. Marty Hurney, in place long before Matt Rhule‘s arrival, has been rumored as a potential chopping-block candidate because of Rhule’s overhaul and seven-year contract. Hurney’s contract runs through 2020. Gettleman made his way back to New York shortly after his Carolina ouster, but his rebuild has not taken off. The Giants have never lost double-digit games in four straight seasons.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/20/20
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the day:
Atlanta Falcons
- Released: S J.J. Wilcox
Carolina Panthers
- Signed off Giants’ practice squad: S Sean Chandler
- Promoted: S Kenny Robinson, OL Sam Tecklenburg
- Placed on IR: S Juston Burris, WR Keith Kirkwood
Green Bay Packers
- Signed off Falcons’ practice squad: LB James Burgess
- Placed on IR: CB Parry Nickerson
New York Jets
- Placed on IR: LB Frankie Luvu
Philadelphia Eagles
- Released from IR: CB Trevor Williams
San Francisco 49ers
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: CB Parnell Motley
- Placed on IR: C Ben Garland (story)
- Waived: TE Daniel Helm
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Waived: WR John Hurst
Tennessee Titans
- Activated from reserve/COVID-19 list: TE MyCole Pruitt
Giants Sign Jabaal Sheard Off Jaguars’ Practice Squad
The Giants will bring in a big name through an unusual route. They signed Jabaal Sheard off the Jaguars’ practice squad.
Sheard has 135 games’ and 103 starts’ worth of experience and is a 10th-year veteran. The edge defender caught on with the Jaguars last week, but with the Jags opting not to keep him on their active roster, the Giants completed a poaching operation.
While Jacksonville added Sheard to its active roster and used him in 15 snaps against Detroit, the team promoted Sheard using a 2020-implemented transactional tool that allows for players to revert back to teams’ practice squads after games. Sheard is set to head to New York ahead of the Giants’ Thursday game, though COVID-19 protocols will prevent him from playing against the Eagles.
Sheard, 31, spent the past three seasons as a Colts starter. He racked up 15.5 sacks during those Indianapolis seasons. He has previously played for the Browns and Patriots, collecting a Super Bowl ring with the latter franchise. A plus run defender in the recent past, Sheard has 51.5 career sacks.
The Giants have run into injury trouble at outside linebacker. They have young rushers Oshane Ximines and Lorenzo Carter on IR. Sheard will join Markus Golden and Kyler Fackrell in a now-veteran-heavy edge-rushing corps. Sheard will take the place of linebacker Tae Crowder, whom the Giants placed on IR. The seventh-round rookie’s scoop-and-score sequence helped the Giants win their first game of the season Sunday, but a hamstring injury will shelve this year’s Mr. Irrelevant for at least three games.
Sheard’s move off Jacksonville’s practice squad comes at an interesting time. Because of practice squad offensive lineman K.C. McDermott‘s positive coronavirus test, the Jaguars placed 11 more P-squad players on their reserve/COVID-19 list. Sheard is now gone as well. With new NFL protocols forcing even asymptomatic players to be on the COVID list for at least five days, the Jaguars have a decimated practice squad at present.
2020 NFL Cap Space, By Team
As shown by Le’Veon Bell‘s recent deal with the Chiefs, big name free agents can come available at any point throughout the season. His contract wasn’t particularly pricey, but teams like to keep cash on hand during the year, especially when mulling potential trades before the deadline. Excess cap room can also be rolled over from year-to-year and give clubs the opportunity to lock up their most valuable players with extensions.
Here are the most recent figures for each team, via Over The Cap:
- Cleveland Browns – $33.1MM
- New York Jets – $27.9MM
- Dallas Cowboys — $23.9MM
- Washington Football Team – $23.6MM
- Jacksonville Jaguars– $22.9MM
- New England Patriots – $22.9MM
- Denver Broncos – $19.7MM
- Detroit Lions – $17MM
- Philadelphia Eagles– $18MM
- Miami Dolphins – $15.8MM
- Indianapolis Colts – $10.4MM
- Pittsburgh Steelers – $9.6MM
- Cincinnati Bengals– $9MM
- Baltimore Ravens – $9MM
- Arizona Cardinals– $8.9MM
- Chicago Bears – $8.4MM
- Tennessee Titans – $8.3MM
- Houston Texans – $8.1MM
- Los Angeles Chargers — $8MM
- New Orleans Saints – $8MM
- Green Bay Packers – $7.7MM
- New York Giants – $7.2MM
- Los Angeles Rams – $7MM
- Las Vegas Raiders – $6.3MM
- Carolina Panthers – $6.2MM
- Kansas City Chiefs – $5.8MM
- Buffalo Bills – $5MM
- San Francisco 49ers – $4MM
- Seattle Seahawks – $4MM
- Atlanta Falcons – $2MM
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers – $1.4MM
- Minnesota Vikings – $158K
Giants Notes: Board, Thomas
There was a scary injury in the Giants game Sunday, as New York receiver C.J. Board went down with a neck injury that required him to be immobilized and carted off the field. Fortunately, it looks like the worst case scenario was avoided. The team announced that Board had been diagnosed with a neck sprain and concussion after being taken to a local hospital. Giants coach Joe Judge said after the game that the initial feedback he had gotten from doctors was “pretty positive.”
He also said Board was responsive and has movement in his extremities. A 2017 UDFA, Board is in his first season with the Giants. The Chattanooga product has seven catches for 66 yards on the year. Here’s to hoping he makes a swift and full recovery.
- The Giants didn’t start first-round rookie Andrew Thomas at left tackle on Sunday, but it wasn’t because of his performance even though he hasn’t been playing as well as the other first-round tackles. Thomas was benched for disciplinary reasons after breaking a team rule, Judge said after the game. Judge wouldn’t go into too many details, but he didn’t make it sound too serious. Thomas entered the game in the second quarter and while this doesn’t seem like a huge deal, it’s also not a great sign for the fourth overall pick’s development.
- The Giants will play the Eagles on Thursday Night Football this week, and Philly is finally starting to get healthier. DeSean Jackson is expected to make his return from his hamstring injury for this Week 7 game, a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Jackson has missed the last three games as the Eagles’ offense has been besieged by injuries. Philly’s group of pass-catchers in particular have been banged up, and Jackson will return a much-needed vertical threat to the passing attack. Through two and a half games he had ten catches for 121 yards before going down.
Minor NFL Transactions: 10/17/20
Here are Saturday’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Promoted: S Marcus Gilchrist, LB Kristian Welch
Carolina Panthers
- Activated from IR: WR Keith Kirkwood
- Promoted: DT Woodrow Hamilton, DE Austin Larkin
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted: DT Kahlil McKenzie
Cleveland Browns
- Promoted: S Elijah Benton
Denver Broncos
- Promoted: RB Jeremy Cox, LB Josh Watson
Detroit Lions
- Activated from IR: G Joe Dahl
- Promoted: QB David Blough, TE Isaac Nauta
- Waived: CB Chris Jones
Green Bay Packers
- Activated from IR: WR Equanimeous St. Brown
Houston Texans
- Promoted: S Jonathan Owens
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Promoted: DE Jabaal Sheard
Indianapolis Colts
- Waived: DT Eli Ankou
Miami Dolphins
- Promoted: DT Benito Jones
New York Giants
- Promoted: LB Trent Harris
New York Jets
- Promoted: LB Blake Cashman, WR Vyncint Smith, QB Mike White
- Released: S Marqui Christian
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Promoted: WR Deon Cain
San Francisco 49ers
- Activated from IR: WR Richie James
- Promoted: DT Darrion Daniels, WR Kevin White
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted: DT Jeremiah Ledbetter
Tennessee Titans
- Promoted: LB Daren Bates, WR Cameron Batson, DB Kareem Orr
Washington Football Team
- Promoted: TE Temarrick Hemingway