Familiar face a welcome sight at Steelers training camp after slew of injuries
By Tommy Jaggi
It wasn't long after the pads came on that the injury bug bit the Pittsburgh Steelers. During the first padded training camp practice, third-round rookie wide receiver Roman Wilson was tackled awkwardly on a jet sweep and sustained an ankle injury that will force him out of action for at least two weeks.
This potentially serious injury scare was followed by a pair of injuries at the outside linebacker position. David Perales was carted off the field with a knee injury on July 31, while OLB Kyron Johnson deals with hamstring tightness.
These injuries left the Steelers with just four healthy bodies at the position, including T.J. Watt who is limited at practice as a star veteran. Unsurprisingly, the recent injuries at the edge rusher position led to the team adding depth at the position... and fans should be thrilled about their recent reunion with a former player.
Markus Golden is just what the doctor ordered for the Steelers' defense
On August 1, the Pittsburgh Steelers confirmed that Markus Golden had been signed to a one-year contract. Golden initially joined Pittsburgh during the 2023 offseason on a one-year deal, and he went on to have an excellent season.
To make room on the roster for Golden, the Steelers waived injured outside linebacker David Perales.
In a part-time role last year, Golden raked in four sacks, six tackles for a loss, and 10 quarterback hits en route to the highest-graded season of his career, according to Pro Football Focus. Now Golden re-joins an edge rusher group which already consists of T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig.
The biggest question mark with this signing is Golden's lack of special teams ability. At 33 years old, he isn't all of a sudden going to learn to be a special teams defenseman. However, Golden offers stability to the position and excellent depth in the event of an injury.
With Herbig poised for a second-year breakout campaign, the talented Wisconsin product is expected to have a bigger role than the veteran. This means that Golden is likely to be the team's fourth outside linebacker in 2024.
Regardless, the decision to bring Golden back this year was an outstanding move and one that makes the Pittsburgh Steelers' roster even better than it was before the injuries to the outside linebacker position. Golden has 51.0 career sacks and will look to add a few more this year.