Early in training camp, Markus Golden dropped a tweet noting that he felt "underpaid, underappreciated and undervalued."
The Cardinals took care of that Friday.
General Manager Steve Keim, during an appearance on the "Burns and Gambo" show on Arizona Sports 98.7, confirmed the team got Golden signed to a contract extension "the other day."
"Markus and I have a great relationship," Keim said. "We were able to sit down and have some candid conversations. The thing about Markus is, he is all emotion. He's a balls-out player that gives everything he has. To me, the one thing about him, we have the ability to be open and honest. I just think the guy deserved an extension and he's be rewarded now, and I think he's going to have a big year."
Scheduled to go into the last year of his contract and with the first game of the season looming, Golden received an extension through the 2023 season, according to ESPN. The deal is reportedly worth up to $6.5 million. Golden had been scheduled to make up to $3.25 million this season originally.
Golden returned to practice this week for the first time since Aug. 1. Golden said Friday he had dropped a 50-pound kettlebell on his foot, fracturing a toe, and that is why he missed more than a month of practice.
"My reason for sitting out, I hurt my toe," Golden said after practice, just before news of the contract broke. "I let everything (contract-wise) take care of itself. I'm a guy who is going to work hard no matter what. I'm going to come out and do my thing and grind no matter what.
"Of course you want to get paid. It's a business so you want to get paid. But that hasn't been on my mind at all. I've been focusing on getting better and getting ready for the game."
Golden said he feels good, even if he isn't 100 percent.
"I was myself (Friday), flying around, running to the ball, and doing everything I normally do," Golden said. "I need to keep working toward getting in football shape and the only way to do that is by playing football."
Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph said he wasn't worried about Golden's ability if he was able to get on the field. Golden led the team with 11 sacks last year and will be crucial to the pass rush.
Golden understood that, and earlier in the offseason, he expressed a desire to get an extension done sooner rather than later.
"I'm working hard for you, and I hope you do the right thing for me," Golden told azcardinals.com during OTAs.
