Steelers' Mykal Walker Being Direct: 'I'm Playing' When Asked About His Role For Week 11

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in a fortunate situation as they enter a Week 11 road matchup with the division rival Cleveland Browns. Sitting currently at 6-3, the Steelers will face backup quarterbacks in back to back AFC North matchups with the Browns and Cincinnati Bengals. That stretch gets followed up by three consecutive games against teams with a .500 or worse winning percentage currently. 

While this upcoming stretch of games should give the Steelers opportunities to get a couple "easy" wins, that is unlikely to be the case since every one of the Steelers' six wins have come via one score games. This has given Steeler Nation very high anxiety levels so far this season. 

In addition to always finding themselves in close games, albeit winning those games, the Steelers are not in the best place from an injury standpoint themselves, and haven't been all season. 

Steelers Injuries Have Come In Bunches In 2023

Diontae Johnson and Cam Heyward both missed significant time earlier this season, while Minkah Fitzpatrick currently is on pace to be a game-time decision for Week 11 according to Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin. But more concerning than that is the Steelers losing two linebackers for the rest of the season in back to back weeks, those being Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander. 

With both of those linebackers out the rest of the year, the team is going to be leaning on the other members of that linebacker room who are already on the roster. That would be 2023 free agent addition Elandon Roberts and 2022 seventh round pick Mark Robinson. 

While Roberts and Robinson are the only two linebackers on the active roster currently, Mykal Walker currently is on the team's practice squad and is likely to be added to the active roster on game day. According to Walker himself, he is being told he will be seeing playing time while speaking with the media in the locker room. 

"All I know is they told me I'm playing," Walker said when asked how much he would play in Week 11." I can't ask for nothing more than that. I got an opportunity, whether it's one play or a whole game, I'm ready to go."

For the Steelers linebacker room, Walker adds a different skill set than Robinson or Roberts as they are both very physical players who aren't afraid to lay the wood. Walker is a more athletic linebacker that can use his sideline to sideline speed to make a difference. 

In addition to bringing a different skill set to the linebacker room for the Steelers, Walker also has a lot of experience for a fourth-year pro. In his three NFL seasons, Walker has started 20 games and recorded 187 tackles, with his best season coming in 2022 where he started 12 games while making 107 tackles. 

His more athletic skill set is something Walker recognizes as something that could allow him to make an impact on the Steelers defense, especially next to Roberts in the middle. 

"It's been good man," Walker says about working next to Roberts. "I mean like I said and I mentioned earlier, he's a physical backer. I feel like my athleticism and versatility going to play off of him very well. I think it's going to be a good fit for us."

That versatility will definitely be needed this week, as the Browns will likely look to get athletic tight end David Njoku heavily involved due to starting a rookie quarterback in Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The Steelers were beat down the middle of the field several times in Week 10 against the Green Bay Packers, and with both safeties Fitzpatrick and Keanu Neal likely missing this contest after not practicing this week, that is something the Browns will look to exploit. 

It is never good to lose two veterans at the same position like the Steelers did with Holcomb and Alexander, but having depth like Walker who has the experience mentioned previously can make all the difference, and Mike Tomlin made it clear that was intentional. 

Additionally, the Steelers have added two linebackers to their practice squad in the last couple weeks by signing undrafted rookie free agent Tyler Murray and second-year converted safety Tariq Carpenter. Carpenter saw action last week on special teams and recorded one tackle. 

Do you believe Walker can add to the Steelers linebacker group with his athleticism on gameday?