Pittsburgh Steelers signing OLB Markus Golden to one-year deal

The Pittsburgh Steelers started Phase 3 of Organized Team Activities (OTAs) Tuesday, but don’t believe General Manager (GM) Omar Khan is just content with the current state of the roster.

After cutting three players Monday, the Steelers have 87 players on their 90-man offseason roster. This means there could be some additions coming. Tuesday morning it was reported by Jordan Schultz of The Score the Steelers are hosting former Arizona Cardinals pass rusher Markus Golden on Tuesday.

Wednesday afternoon, ESPN’s Adam Schefter is saying the two teams have agreed on a one-year deal.

Golden was a 2nd Round pick by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2015 NFL Draft out is Missouri. From 2015-2018 Golden played for the Cardinals before going to the New York Giants in 2019. Prior to the 2021 season Golden returned to the desert to play for the Cardinals last season.

In 2022, Golden put up the following numbers for the Cardinals:

Games: 17
Tackles: 48
Solo Tackles: 22
Sacks: 2.5
QB Hits: 20
Forced Fumbles: 0
Fumble Recoveries: 0
Pass Defense: 0

For his career, Golden has put up the following statistics for a pass rusher at the NFL level:

Games: 111
Sacks: 47
QB Hits: 130
Forced Fumbles: 11
Fumble Recoveries: 4

The Steelers will happily welcome Golden to the mix to help be the third pass rusher behind Alex Highsmith and T.J. Watt. While the team did draft Nick Herbig in the 4th Round of the 2023 NFL Draft, leaning on a rookie who has plenty to develop would be a difficult task for the defense.

Pittsburgh has been searching for that third pass rusher since Melvin Ingram forced his trade two years ago. Last year the team acquired Malik Reed from the Denver Broncos in a trade, but Reed never was able to provide much production as a pass rusher.

UPDATE: The Steelers have officially announced the signing of Markus Golden to a one-year contract.

Be sure to stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for OTAs Phase 3 and the rest of the NFL offseason.