The Pittsburgh Steelers brought back a familiar face this morning when they re-signed OLB Markus Golden. He was with the team for the 2023 season as the top OLB depth behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. In limited snaps he performed well, and with a pair of injuries at the position on Wednesday’s practice, the Steelers made the move to bring Golden back.
Mike Tomlin was asked about Golden’s return after practice on Thursday.
“He is just a really solid veteran. He is low to no maintenance. He’s a pro,” Tomlin said in a video posted on the Steelers’ website. “He’s good, wise counsel and was highly productive when called upon. I think he had four sacks for us in limited action. He’s solid against the run. He’s just a pro.”
Golden had 20 total tackles, four sacks, six tackles for loss, one pass defensed, and a fumble recovery in just 230 defensive snaps last season.
The Steelers are likely to only keep four edge rushers on their initial 53-man roster. That was previously going to create a competition between Jeremiah Moon, David Perales, Kyron Johnson, and Julius Welschof, but it now seems pretty clear that they will carry the same four they had last season.
The depth chart may look a little different, however, as Nick Herbig is the current favorite to hold down the top depth spot.
One thing Tomlin said in particular stood out to me. He called Golden “wise counsel”. He’s a been there, done that player with three separate seasons of double-digit sack totals throughout his career. Now entering his 10th season, that is a great asset to have at linebacker. Including the inside and outside linebacker depth, the Steelers are in the best spot that they’ve been in for years. They are set up to take an injury in stride and continue being an effective unit.
For a long time, the OLB depth was highly questionable behind Watt and his counterpart. Golden could reasonably start or be the top depth option for several teams around the league, so it is amazing to have him as the fourth OLB.
He should have little to no trouble hopping back on the moving train that is training camp.
