Markus Golden may be executing “hold-in” with the Arizona Cardinals

Edge-rusher Markus Golden’s mysterious toe injury may be nothing more than a ploy to get more money out of the Arizona Cardinals.

For the past month or so, the Arizona Cardinals have been waiting for Markus Golden to get healthy. A curious toe ailment has sidelined the outside linebacker, and there’s speculation that Golden may be missing practices for another reason altogether.

The new saying around the NFL this offseason is “holding in”, a phrase that is used to describe the action of a player who’s unhappy with his contract. Instead of staying away from the team, the disgruntled individual protests by refusing to participate in drills with his teammates.

Could Golden be executing that tactic in an attempt to get some more money out of the Cards franchise? The veteran posted something on Twitter back on August 1st that would seem to lend credence to that interesting theory.

“Underpaid, Underappreciated and Undervalued!!! But I’m still working!!! #LetsGetIt.” It sure seems like Golden could be a bit upset with the Cardinals front office, doesn’t it?

Markus Golden may have outperformed his current deal with the Arizona Cardinals

According to Spotrac.com, Golden is scheduled to be paid a base salary of $2 million for the upcoming campaign. That’s extremely team-friendly when you consider the fact that the former second-round draft pick led Arizona with 11 quarterback sacks last season.

Kliff Kingsbury indicated this week that Golden would be a game-time decision when the Redbirds host the Kansas City Chiefs this coming Sunday. The Cards head coach also told the reporters that Golden could play in a limited capacity if he fails to log any practice time at all over the next couple of days.

Golden has been a professional both on and off the field during the five and a half years he has spent with the Cardinals organization. Perhaps it’s time for management to acknowledge his contributions, and grant the 31-year old Golden the bump in pay that he truly deserves.

(Statistics provided by Pro-Football-Reference)