Markus Golden puts Pittsburgh Steelers, NFL on notice
When the Pittsburgh Steelers signed former Arizona Cardinals veteran Markus Golden to a one-year deal earlier this month, the team provided the edge rusher with no guarantees about his playing time.
With T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith back for 2023, Golden’s snap count could be one of the lowest he’s had since missing time in 2017 and 2018 due to injuries.
Regardless of his depth chart situation in Pittsburgh, the former second-rounder is planning to give it his all whenever he is on the field.
“I don’t need all that,” Golden said, via Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I know how football is. You can sit here and tell somebody anything. At the end of the day, I know how football is. Anything can happen. What I’m going to do is go hard every day, come to work every day, learn from these guys. When the time comes, whether I play one play or if I play 30 plays, I’m going to go hard on all those plays.”
JJ Watt, T.J. Watt’s older brother and Golden’s former teammate in Arizona, recently shared his praise for the newest Steelers defender.
“Junk is one of the best teammates I’ve ever been around,” Watt said of Golden. “Love that guy. Gonna give you everything he has every single time he steps on the field. Passion, energy, positive vibes, just loves the game & loves life. Brother for life.”
Steelers bolster defense with Golden pickup
The edge rusher started his career with the Cardinals before spending two seasons with the Giants and joining Arizona again in 2020.
Golden hit the free agency market in March once his deal with the Cardinals ran out. He was playing on a one-year extension worth $6.5 million. He is now going to be playing on the veteran’s minimum for Pittsburgh, which is $1.165 million with a signing bonus of $152,500.
The 32-year-old played all 17 games in 2022, racking up 48 tackles with 2.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss.
In 2021, Golden had another 48 tackles but notched 11 sacks. It was his third season with more than 10 sacks and caused the Cardinals to re-up on him for another season. When the team released him in March, they cleared roughly $3 million in cap space for 2023.
Golden was a second-round draft pick out of Missouri. The Cardinals grabbed him at No. 58 overall in 2015. He repaid them with 16.5 sacks over the next two seasons, as well as six forced fumbles.
The veteran is now with his third NFL team as he heads into his ninth season.
In 2019, Golden led the Giants with 10 sacks and 11 tackles for loss. He missed significant time in 2017 due to a torn ACL and again in 2018 due to an ankle injury but he’s remained relatively healthy recently.
The Steelers can definitely use Golden’s help in 2023. This offseason saw the departures of Devin Bush and Robert Spillane via free agency.
On top of the Golden addition, the Steelers have also bolstered the defense via the draft. They drafted talented linebacker Nick Herbig in the fourth round. Pittsburgh also picked up free agents Elandon Roberts and Cole Holcomb.