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Brooke Pryor, ESPN Staff Writer
PITTSBURGH — After a recent visit to Pittsburgh, veteran pass-rusher Markus Golden inked a one-year deal with the Steelers, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Golden, a nine-year veteran, started 14 games for the Arizona Cardinals last season, and he gives the Steelers their highly sought-after veteran depth behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. The Steelers also brought former draft pick Bud Dupree in for a visit earlier this offseason, but he signed with the Atlanta Falcons. Golden, 32, has 68 starts and 47 sacks in a career that includes two stints in Arizona with a stop at the New York Giants in between. Golden also has 11 forced fumbles and one interception.
Prior to Golden’s signing, the Steelers lacked quality depth behind Watt and Highsmith. Fourth-round pick Nick Herbig (2023) and 2021 sixth-rounder Quincy Roche are the only other viable options on the depth chart at the position.
Last season, the Steelers traded for Malik Reed in August in search of that depth, but Reed wasn’t very effective when Watt went down with a torn pectoral. He played in 14 games and had just 25 tackles and one sack, and he hit free agency in March.