Golden’s decision comes eight days after re-signing with the Steelers. He remained productive in his final NFL season, totaling 5.0 NFL sacks while producing a career-best 17.0 percent pass-rush win rate. He spent seven seasons with the Cardinals, who drafted him in the 2015 NFL draft’s second round. He retires with 53.5 NFL sacks to his name.

Golden spent all of last season with the Steelers, appearing in 16 games while totaling 20 tackles, six TFLs, and four sacks. The veteran linebacker is entering his 10th year in the league and is likely being brought on to play a role similar to last season. Golden didn’t start a game for the Steelers in 2023, playing on just 230 defensive snaps as a role player. This doesn’t look like anything more than a depth signing at this time.

Golden visited with the Steelers on Tuesday and was signed by Wednesday. Released by the Cardinals as a cap casualty earlier this offseason, Golden, who managed just 2.5 sacks last season, will look to rebound with the Steelers while playing opposite T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. Golden totaled 11 sacks with the Cardinals in 2021 but has been inconsistent as a pass rusher since entering the league in 2015. At worst, he's a veteran presence who will provide added depth to a pass rush that's thin behind Watt.

Golden had 11.5 sacks in 2021, but flopped to just 2.5 in 2022 despite actually playing more snaps last season. He'd be a pass-downs rotational piece for the Steelers, who don't have much established depth behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith.