The Pittsburgh Steelers may have dropped their first preseason game, but the worst loss they may have suffered today was the retirement of edge rusher Markus Golden. Golden was just brought back to the Steelers recently after spending 2023 with them. Last year, he was productive in his role as a backup to T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith, and it seemed like he would continue to do that this year. However, he decided to retire after only spending a few days with the team in training camp. Mike Tomlin didn’t have much to add on the matter, but he seems to feel it was the best decision for Golden.
Speaking to the media after the game, Tomlin was asked about Golden’s retirement.
“I got nothing to add there,” Tomlin said via the team’s website. “Football is a challenging job. You gotta be all in on it. If you’re not, you probably made the best decision.”
It sounds like Tomlin doesn’t want to get into Golden’s decision too much, but he doesn’t seem to have any hard feelings. Golden is a veteran, having played nine years in the league, so it isn’t super shocking that he decided to call it quits.
However, when he spoke at training camp, he seemed happy to be back with the Steelers and excited to get to work. Perhaps he just felt like his body couldn’t take the stress anymore. Tomlin seemed to hint that Golden wasn’t all in on football anymore, so maybe he just wanted to spend more time with his family. There is no definitive explanation though, and that’s fine. Better to worry about players who are currently on the team.
The problem the Steelers face now is that they are a little light on outside linebacker depth. Nick Herbig should be a solid player off the bench, but beyond that, the rest of the room is a question mark. Ideally, the team would have one more player to add to its edge rusher rotation. Perhaps DeMarvin Leal will get more time there now.
We’ll see if they decide to stick with the names in house or look to pick up a free agent. Either way, Golden made the best decision for his life, and he shouldn’t be faulted for that.
