The Pittsburgh Steelers have placed outside linebacker Markus Golden on the Reserved/Retired list, the team announced today, hours before their preseason opener against the Houston Texans. That means Golden was informed the team he is retiring.
Golden was signed Aug. 1 after the team suffered multiple injuries at outside linebacker. Golden expressed an appreciation to return after playing for Pittsburgh last season, notching four sacks in backup action. He had a connection to Steelers OLBs coach Denzel Martin, the two teammates in college at Missouri.
Speaking to reporters after being re-signed, Golden said he momentarily felt retired after spending the offseason as a free agent and enjoyed spending time with his family.
“I started to feel a little retired, man”, Golden told reporters after being signed. “It was cool to hang out with my kids a little extra, but it’s even better just to get back here, and they’ll be able to watch me play this year”.
Golden only participated in a few practices after being signed. He was on the field but did not practice Wednesday, wearing a ballcap and hanging around the field, while I did not see him on the field Thursday. Clearly, that was related to his decision to retire.
A second round pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 2015, Markus Golden appeared in 127 career games. He recorded 51 career sacks, including a season-high 12.5 as a sophomore in 2016. He had a late-career resurgence with the Cardinals in 2021, picking up 11 sacks.
For the Steelers, he appeared in 16 games last season, recording 20 tackles and four sacks. He was competing for a backup spot this year but wasn’t going to chart higher than No. 4 on the depth chart behind T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig. He had signed a one-year contract in his return to the team.
With Golden’s designation, the Steelers have an open roster spot on their 91-man roster. Now that Golden is out of the fold, Jeremiah Moon and Kyron Johnson will compete for the fourth outside linebacker spot.
