Player: ILB Mykal Walker
Stock Value: Sold
Reasoning: The Steelers are not re-signing veteran ILB Mykal Walker after all, though nobody assumed as much in the first place. He signed on with the Washington Commanders yesterday, one of only a small handful of free agents lost thus far. Walker played a significant role in the wake of the injuries at the linebacker position last year.
The Pittsburgh Steelers seemingly ended up with about a dozen inside linebackers last season due to injuries. The candidates ranged from free agents like Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts to guys off the couch like Blake Martinez.
Mykal Walker fell somewhere in between. A former starter for the Atlanta Falcons, the Steelers picked him up at the end of October. Holcomb and Kwon Alexander suffered season-ending injuries in consecutive weeks, thrusting him into a featured role as a result.
In all, Walker played nearly 300 defensive snaps over the final eight games of the regular season, starting five. The Steelers began reducing his playing time, however, when it became evident opponents were exploiting his issues in coverage.
A 2020 fourth-round pick, Walker played 769 snaps in 2022 for the Falcons, starting 12 of 16 games. When they waived him last year, the move found mild surprise, though certainly not shock. Now he’s on to his third team since August after spending the entirety of his first three seasons in Atlanta.
The Steelers already signed Patrick Queen in free agency and retain a healthy Roberts from last year’s free agents. They still do not know when or if Holcomb can return to the field, let alone the starting lineup. Alexander is an unsigned free agent, but also continuing to recover from his own injury. Beyond Queen and Roberts, they still have third-year Mark Robinson, who didn’t make the jump last year many hoped.
The Steelers appear to be actively exploring their draft options at inside linebacker despite the big addition of Queen. While they appreciated the efforts of players like Walker and Myles Jack filling in last year, they didn’t bring those guys back. We are looking at yet another substantial remake of the room after doing so already just last year, including Walker.
As the season progresses, Steelers players’ stocks rise and fall. The nature of the evaluation differs with the time of year, with in-season considerations being more often short-term. Considerations in the offseason often have broader implications, particularly when players lose their jobs, or the team signs someone. This time of year is full of transactions, whether minor or major.
A bad game, a new contract, an injury, a promotion—any number of things affect a player’s value. Think of it as a stock on the market, based on speculation. You’ll feel better about a player after a good game, or worse after a bad one. Some stock updates are minor, while others are likely to be quite drastic, so bear in mind the degree. I’ll do my best to explain the nature of that in the reasoning section of each column.
