The Pittsburgh Steelers officially signed former ILB Myles Jack to the practice squad on Monday. It doesn’t sound as though the plan is for him to remain there, at least according to Josina Anderson, who has been on top of the story along the way.
She wrote on Twitter that Jack “will remain on the practice squad until he continues to work himself into playing shape”, which has become a common move in recent years since the practice squad rules were loosened to allow for veterans of any level of experience to be signed.
Signing a veteran to the practice squad gives a team the opportunity to get the player acclimated before he has to take up a spot on the 53-man roster. Whether it’s getting him up to speed on the playbook, or in a case like Jack’s, to work himself back into football shape after a months-long layoff, the advantages are clear.
In this scenario, Jack probably does not need a long warm-up period when it concerns the defense itself. He spent the 2022 season running the defense as the every-down linebacker, at least when he was healthy. The Steelers signed him that year as a veteran free agent to a two-year, $16 million contract, so the fact that they valued him was quite clear.
The only problem is that they didn’t see $8 million worth in remaining value on his two-year contract this offseason, so they released him as they began entirely remodeling the position. Jack did not sign with a team until August, joining the Philadelphia Eagles, but he announced his plans to retire just a couple weeks later.
Whether he ever formally submitted paperwork to retire is unknown, but I’m betting that he didn’t. Not that it matters a great deal either way. He was not under a 53-man roster contract, so the Steelers were free to sign him.
Pittsburgh has three inside linebackers on the roster at the moment after promoting Mykal Walker from the practice squad with a fourth coming as the Steelers reportedly claimed veteran Blake Martinez off the Carolina Panthers’ practice squad. Elandon Roberts remains as the consistent starter, with Mark Robinson the fourth option.
Walker started this past game due to season-ending injuries to Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander in consecutive weeks. It’s easy to conjecture that the only reason Jack decided to retire was because of the fact that there was a golden opportunity for him to play in Pittsburgh.
Still, nothing will be guaranteed to him, not even a spot on the 53-man roster, though room could readily be made by releasing RB Godwin Igwebuike, who is currently a weekly healthy scratch. The Steelers routinely carry five inside linebackers on their roster anyway, so even if they were to retain Walker, Martinez, and Robinson, it wouldn’t be a numbers issue.
