Former Cardinals OLB Retires

Markus Golden will ride off into the sunset.

Dec 25, 2022; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals linebacker Markus Golden (44) and J.J. Watt (99) celebrate a stop on third down against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Rondone-USA TODAY Sports / Joe Rondone-USA TODAY Sports

ARIZONA -- Former Arizona Cardinals LB Markus Golden is hanging up the cleats and calling it a career.

The Pittsburgh Steelers - who just re-signed Golden last week - officially announced Golden would be placed on the reserve/retirement list.

Golden - who turned 33 this offseason - first started his NFL career as a second-round pick with the Arizona Cardinals in 2015.

Golden spent four seasons in the desert before signing with the New York Giants in 2019.

Just one year later in 2020, Golden was traded back to the Cardinals for a sixth-round pick. Golden then spent the next few years in Arizona before again hitting free agency in 2023 and signing with the Steelers.

After being a free agent this offseason, Golden inked a one-year deal with the Steelers back on August 1 before retiring.

Golden spent a total of nine years in the NFL, playing 127 games with 68 starts.

51 of those starts came in Arizona, where he racked up 35.5 sacks for the Cardinals.

Golden still appeared to have some juice left in the tank, netting four sacks as a rotational piece behind the likes of TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith in Pittsburgh last year.

Golden would have been an ideal signing for the Cardinals following the season-ending injury to BJ Ojulari, though he signed with the Steelers before Ojulari's injury happened.

Per Spotrac, Golden earned $22.6 million during his career.

Congrats on a great run, Junk!