LB Anthony Walker Announces Retirement

A former Northwestern standout, Walker entered the NFL as a fifth-round pick of the Colts and then-rookie general manager Chris Ballard in 2017. Walker mostly worked as a backup in an injury-limited rookie year, but he put together a productive run in Indianapolis from 2018-20. Playing alongside star linebacker Shaquille Leonard during that 47-game, 46-start stretch, Walker averaged 107 tackles per season while totaling 3.5 sacks and three interceptions.

Walker did not stick with the Colts after his rookie contract expired in 2021, and he never inked another multiyear pact. He signed his first one-year deal in Cleveland, where he piled up 113 tackles despite missing four games with a hamstring injury. It proved to be the last season with triple-digit tackles for Walker, who continued battling injuries for the rest of his career. The 6-foot-1, 230-pounder appeared in just 31 of a possible 68 games from 2022-25.

Walker was a starter in all 12 of his contests in 2023, his last year in Cleveland, and notched another eight over 14 appearances with the Dolphins in ’24. While Walker reunited with the Colts last September, he did not see any action before the Buccaneers plucked him off Indy’s practice squad in mid-December. Walker went on to play just 15 snaps (14 on special teams) in a pair of appearances with Tampa Bay.

Over a combined 101 games and 83 starts with four teams, Walker recorded 581 tackles, 5.5 sacks and four interceptions.