Steelers Acquire Important Depth By Bringing Back Markus Golden

The Pittsburgh Steelers have finally addressed the depth at outside linebacker and signed Markus Golden. Golden was on the 2023 team, and played a fairly important role as he was the third outside linebacker on the depth chart. Whenever TJ Watt came off the field, Golden would take his place, and he even started in the Steelers' playoff game while Watt was dealing with a knee injury he obtained in Week 18.

Golden's contract with the Steelers expired after the 2023 season, and he is just now being brought back after spending the entire 2024 offseason as a free agent. Pittsburgh suffered some injuries at outside linebacker during the team's second day in pads on Wednesday, which made this signing a necessity. The team announced his signing on X, and he will be under contract through the 2024 season.

During his time with Pittsburgh in 2023, Golden was able to chip in four sacks, recover a fumble and record 20 total tackles. Second-year budding star, Nick Herbig, will probably take more snaps than him in 2024, but it is still good for the Steelers to acquire more depth. After both David Perales and Kyron Johnson went down on Wednesday, this signed made all the sense in the world for all parties involved.

In order to make room for Golden to join the roster, the Steelers waived Perales, who was one of the linebackers that suffered an injury on Wednesday. Perales spent time with the Steelers in 2023 on the practice squad, but was competing for a spot on the final 53-man roster. It's unclear what the severity of his knee injury is, but it must not be good if it forced Pittsburgh to make external moves and waive him.

Golden brings a veteran presence and reliable production to the outside linebacker group. Watt and Alex Highsmith are the best edge-rushing duo in the league, but what makes that position so special in Pittsburgh is the depth and dominance they have at all levels of their roster. Golden has over 50 career sacks going into the 2024 season, and he should be able to tack on a few more while wearing the black and gold.

The veteran was on a one-year deal with the Steelers back in 2023 that was worth roughly $1.3 million. The deal he just signed should be right around that number as well, considering he had decent production in 2023. 

Steelers' Markus Golden Will Need To Find A New Number

In 2023, Golden wore the number 54 during training camp and then switched to number 44 for the regular season. This is something that is common in the NFL, when the roster dwindles down to 53 men from 90, a considerable amount of numbers become available. The outside linebacker has worn 44 for nearly his entire career, but both that and 54 are not available in Pittsburgh.

Rookie Zach Frazier wears the number 54, while another linebacker who was brought back to Pittsburgh, Tyler Matakevich, wears 44. There's a good chance both of these players make the final roster. Frazier is a lock as a rookie who was just selected in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft. Matakevich is a special teams ace, who Pittsburgh is likely relying on to be a top-notch defender on the new kickoffs. 

It'll be interesting to see what number Golden chooses, and what he is able to do for Pittsburgh in his return. Herbig will likely be running the show off of the bench for the outside linebackers, but Golden will still see a decent amount of defensive snaps.

What do you think of the Steelers bringing back Golden? Let us know in the comments below!

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