The news that veteran outside linebacker Bud Dupree and the Pittsburgh Steelers were discussing a reunion late last week was rather surprising, in the sense that it was the second straight offseason the two were connected and outside linebacker depth wasn’t a huge concern at the moment.
Of course, bringing Dupree back as the OLB4 behind T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig would have been a wise move from the Steelers’ perspective. But then Dupree signed a two-year deal with the Los Angeles Chargers for up to $10 million, well out of Pittsburgh’s price range.
There was some initial disappointment that Dupree couldn’t circle back to the Steelers, but the loss of Dupree — again — in the offseason has attention shifting to another familiar face.
That being veteran outside linebacker Markus Golden.
With Dupree off the board and Golden still available and cheap, the Steelers should aim to do business with the veteran pass rusher once again. He is the logical answer at OLB4 for the Steelers, a role he held down with aplomb last season.
Golden, who turned 33 in March, showed throughout the 2023 season in just 230 snaps that he still has a lot of good football left. Golden recorded three sacks and 13 pressures on the season and was an impactful player down the stretch.
In the final three games of the season, including the Wild Card loss to the Buffalo Bills, Golden recorded eight pressures and two sacks, giving the Steelers some really good snaps in high-intensity situations.
Right now, OLB4 might not seem like much of a big deal for the Steelers, considering they are set with Watt, Highsmith and Herbig as a three-headed monster coming off the edge. But that fourth player in the room is an important one from a depth perspective. Golden didn’t play much last year — again, just 230 defensive snaps — but he was great insurance to have, and he delivered when called upon.
He hasn’t generated much attention on the market to date, so there might not be a huge rush to sign him from the Steelers’ standpoint. Remember, Golden was signed on May 24 of last year just ahead of Organized Team Activities. Maybe that happens again as OTAs draw near and Golden is still on the market.
But Pittsburgh might have some options for OLB4 on the roster currently, something it didn’t have last year before landing Golden.
The Steelers did claim outside linebacker Jeremiah Moon off waivers in late January from the Baltimore Ravens, which could give them an experienced, affordable No. 4 OLB with special teams capabilities next season. But Moon isn’t the pass rusher that Golden is and doesn’t exactly provide that strong depth behind Watt and Highsmith that Golden did in 2023 — and could provide in 2024.
The Steelers also signed Michigan State’s Jacoby Windmon as an undrafted free agent, and while he has some very intriguing tape, he’s a bit small at just 6006, 235 pounds.
Those two are certainly names to watch moving forward as depth outside linebackers for the Black and Gold. But are they the ideal OLB4 depth for the Steelers behind the big three? It feels like a “no” right now.
The Steelers were very lucky last season from an injury perspective at the outside linebacker spot as Watt and Highsmith both played more than 80% of the snaps. Banking on that to happen again in 2024 is concerning, simply based on mileage.
Herbig should take a nice step forward in Year 2 after a very promising rookie season, really turning heads and proving people wrong (myself included), but will he be able to handle a larger role defensively in his second season? That remains to be seen.
Bringing Golden back makes the most sense for every scenario laid out. He’s going to be cheap, has a great deal of experience and was fantastic in the room helping the younger players out. In a year in which the Steelers seemingly have Super Bowl aspirations, they should move quickly to bring back Golden for cheap and solidify the outside linebacker room again.
