PHOENIX — If he thinks back, there might be one day Arizona Cardinals linebacker Markus Golden didn’t bring the energy to practice, and that was during his junior college days.
Other than that, Golden is high energy all the time and leads by example, motivating his teammates by the way he carries himself.
“You can hear him chirping the entire practice and if he sees somebody that’s not bringing the same intensity to a drill or practice, he’ll let him know,” said head coach Kliff Kingsbury. “And he backs it up, I think that’s what the guys respect about him.”
The St. Louis native was recently motivated by former Cardinal Edgerrin James’ Hall of Fame speech.
“He said he’s the first guy in the Hall that had dreadlocks, so I like that. I’ve had dreadlocks since I was in 8th grade so that’s pretty cool to me. You see guys like that, it motivates me but at the same time it motivates the young kids from the inner city that want to get to the NFL which I was one.”
While James called himself a protector of quarterbacks, Golden is a hunter.
“We’re all going to be on the field ready to hunt. Any quarterback out there, we’re coming for you.”
And, after rejoining the Cardinals mid-season last year, he feels more confident in his role this time around.
“Now I know the playbook, I know exactly what I’m expected to do. Now I’m excited, I’m excited with the opportunity to come in here and compete and then I’m a Cardinal again so that means a lot to me too.”
The Cardinals’ first preseason game is Friday against the Dallas Cowboys on 12 News at 7 p.m.
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