The Undeniable Connection Between New Steelers Linebacker Markus Golden And TJ, JJ Watt Is Ever-Present

Leave it to the front office of the 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers to make what has seemed like more offseason moves than the franchise has ever in years past. The icing on the cake would have been star edge rusher, TJ Watt's brother, JJ, coming out of a short retirement to play in Pittsburgh. While some still believe that could happen, the reality is that JJ is almost certainly done with football. That doesn't mean the future Hall of Famer hasn't already become relevant in the Steelers' locker room in 2023. One of the newer signees brought him up upon arrival.

Markus Golden, who has played 111 career games, signed with the Steelers in late May. The veteran has 47 career sacks and 33.5 of them came in three separate seasons. He is a great depth piece for Pittsburgh and is expected to be recognized as a great free agent signing by General Manager Omar Khan by December.

Golden recently spoke with the media at Organized Team Activities (OTAs) and talked a little bit about his time playing with JJ. While Golden spent most of his career with the Arizona Cardinals, he only had the opportunity to play with JJ in 2021 and 2022. Those two years allowed him to understand what kind of guy JJ is and relate his brother, TJ, to him in Pittsburgh.

"I know JJ, he works hard and [he's a] funny guy. Everybody thinks he’s serious all the time,” Golden said. “TJ is a great dude. I got to talk to him right when I walked in and he didn’t do anything but show me love and tell me stories that JJ told him. So, it feels good to be here with him, I know he’s a great player just like his brother."

Golden didn't stop there. He put the Watt brothers on somewhat of a pedestal and made it known that it is extremely special that he will get to say he played with one of the best brother duos in NFL history.

"I'm excited to be able to come in and ball with [TJ] and to be able to say I played with both Watt brothers, man."

JJ became aware of Golden's comments on Twitter and couldn't help but comment on how great of a guy and teammate Golden was. His response implies that the two are extremely close.