After nine seasons, three teams and 51 sacks, Markus Golden is hanging up his cleats.
Golden was placed on the reserve/retired list on Friday by the Pittsburgh Steelers, the third and final club of his career, which began in 2015.
Golden was taken 58th overall in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals, whom he played parts of seven seasons with along with parts of two seasons for the New York Giants. He spent last year with Pittsburgh, tallying four sacks in 16 games coming off the bench.
Golden played in 127 games with 68 starts, as he was a pass-rushing specialist who tallied three double-digit-sack seasons. His first came with a career-high 12.5 during the 2016 campaign with the Cardinals. He had 10 with the Giants in 2019 and 11 with the Cards in 2021 a season after Big Blue traded him back to Arizona.
The 33-year-old also had 140 QB hits, 343 tackles, 11 forced fumbles and one touchdown in his career.
Judging by his four sacks last season, Golden still had a bit of pass-rush pop too him, but on a Steelers team rife with edge rushers he would have likely been competing for a roster spot.
Now, he's rushing into retirement.
