Robert Golden

Robert Golden (born September 13, 1990) is a former American football strong safety. He was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He played college football at the University of Arizona.

Robert Golden
refer to caption
Golden with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2012
No. 21, 20, 22
Position:Strong safety
Personal information
Born: (1990-09-13) September 13, 1990
Fresno, California, U.S.
Height:5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight:202 lb (92 kg)
Career information
High school:Edison (Fresno, California)
College:Arizona
Undrafted:2012
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Total tackles:125
Forced fumbles:2
Fumble recoveries:2
Pass deflections:7
Interceptions:2
Defensive touchdowns:1
Player stats at NFL.com

Early years

Golden attended Edison High School in Fresno, California.[1] He was named to the Tacoma News Tribune Western 100.[2] He was selected to the 2007 PrepStar Dream Team.[2] He was selected to the Second-team all-state by CalHiSports and was named to the All-Valley first-team.[2] He was selected to the MaxPreps Division II All-State first team.[2] He participated in the U.S. Army All-American game.[2]

College career

As a four-star recruit, Golden received multiple offers including UCLA, USC, Oregon State, and Oregon. He decided to begin attending Arizona in 2008.[3] Golden began his first two seasons as a cornerback and was thought to be the heir-apparent to Antoine Cason. In the 2008 season, he recorded 13 total tackles and a forced fumble.[4] In the 2009 season, he recorded 41 total tackles, two interceptions, one pick six (against Stanford), and three passes defensed.[5][6] Following his sophomore season though, head coach Mike Stoops switched Golden to strong safety. In the 2010 season, he recorded 60 total tackles, one interception, 13 passes defensed, and one forced fumble.[7] In the 2011 season, he recorded 69 total tackles, one pick six (against Washington), six passes defensed, and two forced fumbles.[8][9]

Professional career

Pre-draft

Golden entered the 2012 NFL Draft after graduating from Arizona. Although he attended the NFL combine and worked out at Arizona's Pro Day, he went undrafted.

Pre-draft measurables
HeightWeight40-yard dash10-yard split20-yard split20-yard shuttleThree-cone drillVertical jumpBroad jumpBench press
5 ft 11 in
(1.80 m)		 201 lb
(91 kg)		 4.51 s1.58 s2.64 s4.40 s7.04 s37+1⁄2 in
(0.95 m)		9 ft 5 in
(2.87 m)		19 reps
All values from Arizona Pro Day[10]

2012

On April 29, 2012, Golden was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Pittsburgh Steelers. His contract was for three-years, $1.44 million, a $5,000 signing bonus, and $5,000 guaranteed.[11]

Golden played in his first career game against the Denver Broncos, in the season opener his rookie season.[12] On October 11, 2012, he made his first career tackle in a 23–26 loss to the Tennessee Titans.[13] He finished his first year playing in 15 games and made 6 tackles as a back-up free safety behind long-time Steelers veteran Ryan Clark.

2013

The following year, he began the season opener making two solo tackles against the Tennessee Titans.[14] On November 10, 2013, Golden made a season-high 3 tackles in a victory over the Buffalo Bills.[15] In Week 8, he caused his first career forced fumble in an 18–21 loss to the Oakland Raiders.[16] During his second year he played in all 16 games and recorded 14 total tackles as the Steelers finished 8–8 for the second consecutive season.[17]

2014
Golden and Pierre Garçon in 2016

He opened the 2014 season as a back-up to new free safety Will Allen, after Clark's departure during the off-season. In the season opener against the Cleveland Browns, he completed a 25-yard pass to Antwon Blake in the fourth quarter.[18] Golden also played in his first career playoff game during the Steelers' 17–30 loss to the Ravens in the wild card game.[19] He finished his season playing in all regular season games and finished with 10 tackles, with 5 being solo.[20]

2015

On March 9, 2015, he was signed as a restricted free-agent to a one-year deal worth $1.54 million. On October 18, 2015, he received his first career start after Will Allen was injured the previous game. He ended the game with a career-high 8 total tackles and a pass deflection.[21] He also received the next two starts in place of Allen. During a Week 14 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, he made his first career interception and returned it for 27 yards.[22][23]

2016

On March 7, 2016, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed Golden to a three-year, $4.95 million contract with a signing bonus of $1.25 million.[11]

Golden began the 2016 regular season as the Steelers' starting strong safety after they chose to not resign Will Allen during the off-season. On September 18, 2016, Golden made a career-high nine combined tackles and a pass deflection during a 24–16 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals[22] He started the first nine games of the season but began rotating with rookie Sean Davis against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 9. By Week 11, he had been benched in favor of the rookie Davis during the Steeler's victory over the Cleveland Browns. He was also benched the following game against the Indianapolis Colts.[24]

2017

Golden started the regular season as the backup strong safety to Sean Davis. In Week 7, against the Cincinnati Bengals, he completed a 44-yard pass to Darrius Heyward-Bey on a fake punt.[25] Overall, in the 2017 season, Golden recorded 15 total tackles, two passes defensed, and an interception.[26]

On March 14, 2018, Golden was released by the Steelers.[27]

Kansas City Chiefs

On April 3, 2018, Golden signed with the Kansas City Chiefs.[28] He was released on August 15, 2018, at his request.[29]

References
  1. Galaviz, Anthony. "Ex-Edison High star Robert Golden earns Steelers' starting strong safety job". Fresno Bee. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  2. "Arizona Wildcats Profile". arizonawildcats.com.
  3. "Robert Golden College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  4. "Robert Golden 2008 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  5. "Stanford at Arizona Box Score, October 17, 2009". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  6. "Robert Golden 2009 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  7. "Robert Golden 2010 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  8. "Arizona at Washington Box Score, October 29, 2011". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  9. "Robert Golden 2011 Game Log". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  10. "Robert Golden". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  11. "Sportrac.com/Robert Golden contract". Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  12. "Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos - September 9th, 2012". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  13. "Pittsburgh Steelers at Tennessee Titans - October 11th, 2012". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  14. "Tennessee Titans at Pittsburgh Steelers - September 8th, 2013". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  15. "Buffalo Bills at Pittsburgh Steelers - November 10th, 2013". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  16. "Pittsburgh Steelers at Oakland Raiders - October 27th, 2013". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  17. "2013 Pittsburgh Steelers Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  18. "Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers - September 7th, 2014". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  19. "Wild Card - Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers - January 3rd, 2015". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  20. "Robert Golden 2014 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  21. "Arizona Cardinals at Pittsburgh Steelers - October 18th, 2015". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  22. "NFL.com Player Profile:Robert Golden". Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  23. "Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals - December 13th, 2015". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  24. Matthew Marczi (November 22, 2016). "2016 Southside questions: Will Robert Golden ride the bench?". steelersdepot.com. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  25. "Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers - October 22nd, 2017". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  26. "Robert Golden 2017 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  27. Varley, Teresa (March 14, 2018). "Steelers release three veterans". Steelers.com. Archived from the original on April 30, 2018.
  28. Williams, Charean (April 3, 2018). "Chiefs sign Robert Golden". ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com.
  29. "Robert Golden tweets he's no longer with the Chiefs". KansasCity.com. August 15, 2018.
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