In the early portion of the 2022 season, things were going rather well for veteran free-agent linebacker Myles Jack with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Signed to a two-year, $16 million deal in free agency after being released by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Jack stepped into a starting role in Pittsburgh and seemingly solidified the position next to veteran linebacker Devin Bush.
Then, as has tended to happen throughout his career, Jack was hit with injuries.
Jack injured his knee and ultimately, he revealed, had an in-season clean-up procedure on the ailing knee. Though he didn’t miss time, he admits he tried to rush back and was never the same last season. Then, he tore his groin late in the year, which completely sapped him of his mobility, leading to poor play and ultimately his benching.
The injuries — along with his price tag — led to the Steelers cutting him loose on March 16 this year as they started to completely overhaul the inside linebacker room in free agency.
Now though, after serious injuries to Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander, Jack finds himself back in the Steelers’ facility, this time on the practice squad working himself back into football shape. Speaking with reporters Wednesday, Jack stated just how frustrating the end of last season was for him from an injury standpoint, but now he’s healthy and ready to contribute again.
“Yeah, man, it was [frustrating]. It seemed like that factored in [to his release]. It was definitely [frustrating] ’cause I felt like I was figuring things out and then boom, had to have surgery midseason try to rush back then tore my groin, and once you tear that groin, man, that’s it, I’m sitting down,” Jack stated to reporters, according to video via Steelers.com. “So it’s the hurt business, man. You gonna get hurt. Injuries happening all the time, but you gotta keep going.
“So this off-season, I got my body right. I was training, taking care of myself, and then I just kind of developed a little routine where I was just working out every day, just like meditation and, yeah. So I feel good.”
Though Jack never truly missed time, he was dressed but held out of the Week 10 game against the New Orleans Saints at home coming out of the bye week. Head Coach Mike Tomlin stated after that game that the Steelers were being cautious with Jack’s usage as he was dealing with the knee injury leading up to the week. He didn’t practice that Wednesday, but then was a full participant that Friday before then returning to the lineup the following week against Cincinnati.
Then, late in the season came the groin tear.
Ultimately, he had to be sat down, leading to Robert Spillane and Mark Robinson seeing significant snaps in the final few weeks of the season. Those injury concerns —and his injury history overall — led to the Steelers cutting him loose. Things have a funny way of always working out though, and due to another man’s misfortune with injuries, Jack is getting a second chance with the Black and Gold.
