The Pittsburgh Steelers were believers in Myles Jack a year ago, signing him to a two-year, $16 million contract. After just one season, however, they let him go and then signed Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts for roughly the same price per season, or not far off it.
But Pro Football Focus believes Jack could still benefit an AFC North team, arguing that the Cleveland Browns should sign him as insurance at the inside linebacker position. Starter Anthony Walker Jr. suffered a serious injury last season—in a game against the Steelers, which could have some complications in recovery.
It is notable that Jack has remained a free agent ever since the Steelers released him early in the offseason, with virtually no indications whatsoever of there being a market for his service. There have been no reports of visits or workouts of any kind, to the best of my knowledge.
The 36th-overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jack played six seasons there, signing a lucrative long-term extension, before being released after the 2021 season. That’s when the Steelers brought him in to replace his own former Jaguars teammate, Joe Schobert, whom they acquired via trade the previous August and subsequently released.
Like Schobert, though, Jack was let go after one season. He played 15 games for Pittsburgh in 2022, starting 13, while dealing with injury issues in the second half of the year that affected his availability. He did finish the year with 104 tackles with three for loss. He had three passes defensed, one of which likely saved a touchdown, but overall he was not an extremely impactful player.
At this point, however, he wouldn’t be commanding a starter’s contract in all likelihood, even if he is still just 27 years old. The Browns already have Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah at one linebacker spot, with Walker at the other when healthy, and Sioni Takitaki is another with a lot of playing time, who started most of last season after Walker’s injury, along with Jacob Phillips.
After signing an $8-million-per-year contract last year, it will be interesting to see how far his market has fallen since then. Just because we haven’t heard anything substantial about potential interest from teams doesn’t mean there hasn’t been any. It’s also possible he hasn’t been in a rush to sign.
Some Steelers fans have expressed a desire to see him return to the black and gold as depth as well. The team has continued to add to the inside linebacker position after nearly completely remaking it, having also signed Tanner Muse and Nick Kwiatkoski as free agents.
Still, one would imagine that Jack could make this 53-man roster rather easily, certainly over Kwiatkoski, who unlike Muse does not offer as substantial a value as a potential special teams player. At this stage of his career, though, Jack might want to dust off his special teams playbook just in case. He did play over 200 snaps on those units during his rookie season.
