Markus Golden

Markus Golden (born March 13, 1991) is an American football linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Cardinals in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He played college football at Missouri.

Golden was a record-setting running back and linebacker at Affton High School. As a senior, he ran for a record 2,264 yards and 30 touchdowns while also making 108 tackles and 10 sacks. His junior season saw him record a school-record 168 tackles and 16 sacks, while he also ran for 1,139 yards and 16 scores.

Hutchinson CC

As a freshman at Hutchinson, Golden made 90 tackles, including 26 tackles for loss and 10 sacks, to go with five forced fumbles and a pair of interceptions.

Missouri

Despite joining Missouri's team late due to clearinghouse issues, Golden was still able to provide a nice impact, playing in all 12 games (primarily on special teams) and made 10 tackles while forcing one fumble in all. He was also a major performer on various special teams units.

As a junior in 2013, Golden played about 40% of the snaps behind Kony Ealy and Michael Sam and led MU ends with 55 tackles on the year, and added 13 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks with 8 passes broken up.

Golden entered his senior season as one of the premier pass rushers in the nation. He lived up to the hype, recording 21 tackles and 4 sacks in the first three games before a hamstring injury slowed him down and also kept him out of the game vs. Indiana. Despite this, he still finished the season with 78 tackles and 10 sacks on the season. He and teammate Shane Ray became the first Missouri teammates to both record double digit sacks in the same season.

Golden was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft. His preseason debut was against the Kansas City Chiefs.