HEADLINES

Mykal Walker

Commanders Sign LB Mykal Walker

April 2nd, 2024 at 1:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

Dan Quinn clearly views scheme familiarity as a priority during his first offseason as Commanders HC. Players from his past in Dallas and Seattle have surfaced in Washington. Now, a former Quinn Atlanta charge is coming to town.

Mykal Walker signed with the Commanders on Tuesday. Quinn and the former Falcons linebacker starter were not together long, as the team fired Quinn early in the 2020 season. But he was still calling the shots when Walker was drafted in the 2020 fourth round. This will continue a busy stretch of transactions for Walker, who is now on team No. 5 over the past eight months.

Spending time with the Bears, Raiders and Steelers following his summer Atlanta exit, Walker will join some recent Quinn charges in Washington. The Commanders have signed Bobby Wagner, Dorance Armstrong, Dante Fowler and Noah Igbinoghene on defense. They also added former Cowboys center Tyler Biadasz.

Walker will presumably be aiming to find some stability in Washington. Since mid-August, three teams have cut the Quinn-era Falcons draftee. Transitioning to then-DC Ryan Nielsen‘s scheme, the Falcons waived Walker during training camp. The Bears submitted a claim but did not make room on their 53-man roster for him on cutdown day. That led Walker to the Raiders’ practice squad, but the AFC West team released him a month later. It took multiple Steelers injuries to provide another opportunity for Walker, though he did finally see action again in Pittsburgh.

Kwon Alexander and ex-Washington starter Cole Holcomb suffered season-ending injuries. This led the team to give Walker five starts during the season’s second half. Walker, 26, played in eight games with Pittsburgh and started in the team’s wild-card game in Buffalo. Walker added his fourth career interception last season. He posted two INTs and added 107 tackles (four for loss) during a 2022 season that featured 12 Falcons starts. Pro Football Focus graded Walker 55th among off-ball linebackers in 2022 and slotted him outside the top 75 at the position during his half-season run in 2023.

While Wagner will be expected to start, Walker profiles as more of a flier at this point. The Commanders still roster former first-round pick Jamin Davis, and their will pair Wagner with hybrid ‘backer Frankie Luvu. Quinn will, however, give Walker a chance to fill in behind the regulars, it would appear.

Steelers To Activate TE Pat Freiermuth, Place S Keanu Neal On IR

November 18th, 2023 at 2:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

NOVEMBER 18, 2:58pm: The Steelers officially announced Freiermuth’s activation this afternoon, along with a number of other Saturday transactions. Joining Freiermuth on the active roster will be practice squad linebacker Mykal Walker, whom the team was hoping to involve more with Kwon Alexander on injured reserve.

In order to make room on the roster, Pittsburgh has placed starting safety Keanu Neal on injured reserve. Neal joined his fourth team in as many years this offseason and has made the most of it, becoming a starter for the Steelers. He hasn’t had the strongest season, grading out as the league’s 62nd-best safety, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Neal’s absence will likely mean a bigger role for fellow safety Damontae Kazee, who was teammates with Neal from 2017-2021 during stints in Atlanta and Dallas.

Lastly, the Steelers announced their standard gameday practice squad elevations for tomorrow’s game in Cleveland. The team will promote LB Tariq Carpenter and safety Trenton Thompson for the matchup. Thompson’s callup fills out the depth chart a bit with Neal gone. Carpenter will team up with Walker to provide some reinforcements at linebacker with Alexander hurt.

NOVEMBER 18, 8:45am: The quick ramp-up period will be sufficient for the Steelers, who will activate Freiermuth at the earliest opportunity. Freiermuth will end up spending the minimum four games on IR, with NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero indicating he will move back onto Pittsburgh’s active roster before this afternoon’s deadline. While the former second-round pick has not played since Week 4, a hamstring aggravation is responsible for the extended absence. This transaction will leave the Steelers with four IR activations remaining.

NOVEMBER 15: Pat Freiermuth‘s third NFL season has not gone as hoped, but the Steelers are moving closer to having their tight end ready for the stretch run. The team designated the young pass catcher for return Wednesday.

This will start Feiermuth’s 21-day activation clock. The Steelers placed Freiermuth on IR due to a hamstring injury last month. While Freiermuth did not initially land on IR due to the injury, an aggravation led to the Steelers moving him off their 53-man roster.

The Steelers have moved to 6-3 despite persistent struggles on offense, but the team has missed Freiermuth and Diontae Johnson for extended chunks of the season. Johnson returned from his hamstring injury weeks ago, and it appears another activation will soon commence after a hamstring malady. This will be good news for Kenny Pickett, who targeted the 2021 second-round pick frequently in his first season as Pittsburgh’s starter.

Last year, Freiermuth finished with 63 receptions for 732 yards and two touchdowns. While his yards-per-reception and touchdown numbers were down compared to his rookie year, the Penn State product’s yardage total dwarfed his rookie-year number (497). Pickett and Mitch Trubisky targeted the talented tight end regularly, and the Steelers came into this season expecting another steady showing from the 6-foot-5 weapon.

Freiermuth has not played since Week 4, and he struggled to find his footing in the latest Matt Canada-run Pittsburgh offense. Freiermuth finished three games with fewer than 10 receiving yards, and although Week 4 involved an early exit, Weeks 1 and 2 brought sluggish outings. Freiermuth has eight receptions for 53 yards and two TDs this season. In his absence, the Steelers have seen Connor Heyward work as their top receiving tight end. The second-year option has 17 catches for 137 yards. Third-round rookie Darnell Washington has not factored in prominently, exiting Week 10 with three grabs for 23 yards.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/30/23

October 30th, 2023 at 6:16pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: LB Donavan Mutin
  • Released: P Pat O’Donnell

Chicago Bears

Indianapolis Colts

Miami Dolphins

New York Giants

  • Signed: CB Stantley Thomas-Oliver

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Signed: C Joey Hunt
  • Released: OL Greg Eiland

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Signed: CB Derrek Pitts
  • Released: LB Brandon Bouyer-Randle

Mykal Walker has found a new home after getting cut by the Raiders last week. The former fourth-round pick spent the first three seasons of his career with the Falcons, including a 2022 campaign where he collected a career-high 107 tackles in 16 games (12 starts). However, since that breakout season, the linebacker has struggled to hold a job. He was waived by Atlanta back in August and was claimed by the Bears, but Chicago ended up cutting him at the end of the preseason. Walker later joined the Raiders practice squad and spent about a month in Las Vegas.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/24/23

October 24th, 2023 at 7:44pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Tuesday’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Released: CB Quavian White

Carolina Panthers

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/19/23

September 19th, 2023 at 7:41pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad transactions:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: LB Milo Eiler

Carolina Panthers

Detroit Lions

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

According to Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald, Matt Corral has landed back with the Patriots after going unclaimed on waivers. It’s been a busy few months for Corral, who has bounced on and off the Panthers and Patriots rosters. He’ll now return to New England as the organization’s third QB behind Mac Jones and Bailey Zappe.

Eric Rowe didn’t last all that long in Carolina after landing on the team’s practice squad in late August. The veteran defensive back spent the past four seasons in Miami, starting 39 of his 63 appearances. He’ll be replaced by Matthias Farley, who brings 100 games of experience to the Panthers. The safety has bounced around the league recently but didn’t miss a game between 2020 and 2022.

It took Mykal Walker a few weeks to find a new gig after getting cut by the Bears on roster deadline day. The former fourth-round pick spent the first three seasons of his career with the Falcons, including a 2022 campaign where he finished with 107 tackles. He was surprisingly waived by Atlanta in mid-August before getting scooped up by Chicago. Now, he’ll have a chance to revive his career in Las Vegas.

Bears Set Initial Roster, Waive DE Trevis Gipson

August 29th, 2023 at 4:24pm CST by Ben Levine

The Bears have been slowly trimming down their squad over the past few days, and the front office has now officially landed on their initial roster. The Bears announced the following moves, some of which were previously reported:

Placed on IR:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

The moves actually reduce Chicago’s roster to 52 players, so additions are certainly coming.

Trevis Gipson is a bit of a surprise cut after the former fifth-round pick got into 33 games (19 starts) for the Bears over the past two years. The defensive lineman showed some pass-rushing prowess during his rookie season, compiling seven sacks, seven tackles for loss, and seven QB hits. His numbers took a bit of a step back in 2022, with the Tulsa product finishing with only three sacks. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (via Twitter), the Bears worked on a trade for Gipson and had “teams involved” in the bidding but couldn’t come to terms before today’s roster deadline.

Trestan Ebner was another Bears draft pick that got into 17 games last season. The 2022 sixth-round pick ended up getting 26 touches on offense, collecting 62 yards from scrimmage while coughing up two fumbles. Ebner also returned 10 kickoffs for Chicago last season. The running back has been in concussion protocol since the early parts of the preseason, and there’s a chance he reverts to the Bears’ injured reserve if he goes unclaimed.

Bears Claim LB Mykal Walker

August 14th, 2023 at 7:33pm CST by Sam Robinson

Not long after using their top waiver position to pick up Bravvion Roy, the Bears capitalized on their waiver priority to add another recently cut NFC South defender. Mykal Walker will head from Atlanta to Chicago.

The Falcons waived the contract-year linebacker Sunday, marking an interesting shift after Walker started 12 games for the team last season and 20 overall during his career. The Bears are now responsible for Walker’s contract year, though that checks in at just $895K.

Atlanta has made some changes on defense this offseason, hiring Ryan Nielsen to take over for the re-retired Dean Pees as defensive coordinator. The Falcons have overhauled their linebacking corps from the Thomas Dimitroff era. A Dimitroff-era draftee, Walker joins Foye Oluokun, De’Vondre Campbell, Deion Jones and Rashaan Evans as linebacker regulars to leave Atlanta in recent years. Walker, 26 later this month, will now attempt to crack a Bears 53-man roster, one that will feature major changes at the position.

The Bears authorized this year’s top free agent linebacker contract, giving Tremaine Edmunds $18MM per year (fourth among off-ball linebackers) and $43MM fully guaranteed (third at the position). They also added T.J. Edwards on a $6.5MM-per-year accord. The Bears let Nicholas Morrow walk in free agency but still have part-time 2022 starter Jack Sanborn under contract. Sanborn suffered a season-ending ankle injury in December. The team is ailing a bit at the position, with ESPN.com’s Courtney Cronin noting (via Twitter) Edmunds and UFA pickup Dylan Cole were not available Monday.

A Fresno State alum, Walker finished with career-high 107 tackles (four for loss) and two interceptions last season. Pro Football Focus assigned a mid-pack grade to Walker’s 2022 campaign, placing him 55th overall among off-ball ‘backers. Walker also notched a 66-yard pick-six in 2021. The Bears waived linebacker Kuony Deng to clear a roster spot for Walker.

Falcons Waive LB Mykal Walker

August 13th, 2023 at 5:00pm CST by Ely Allen

The Falcons have made a slightly surprising roster move as we start to inch closer to initial 53-man rosters for the 2023 NFL season. In order to make space on the roster for recent linebacker addition Frank Ginda, Atlanta waived former sixth-round pick Mykal Walker, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

Walker was drafted to the Falcons in 2020 out of Fresno State. He played a decently consistent role in Atlanta over his first two NFL seasons, starting eight of 33 games as a rotational defender. In limited action, Walker graded out fairly well, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), ranking as the league’s eighth-best linebacker as a rookie.

When finally given more opportunities as a starter in 2022, he produced given the extra time but saw the quality of his play suffer. In 12 starts last season, Walker passed the century-mark for total tackles and added two interceptions and six passes defensed in the process. The production was there, but he only graded out at 55th in the league at the position, according to PFF. The site didn’t dock him in any one area, simply grading him as average against the run, in coverage, and rushing the passer.

Coming into 2023, the Falcons didn’t seem to be planning to continue starting Walker moving forward. He had routinely been working behind Kaden Elliss, added in free agency this spring, and second-year linebacker Troy Andersen. The team experimented with maybe moving him back outside, a role he saw a bit as a rookie, but even then, he found himself working on the second-team defense. He felt comfortable moving around the three linebacker spots as a rover, but it seems that at every position, the Falcons preferred other options.

With the 2023 USFL Defensive Player of the Year in Ginda now in the locker room, Walker apparently fell too low on the depth chart. His time in Atlanta has come to an end, but it wouldn’t be surprising to find him on a new roster before the regular season gets going.