4-year veteran Mykal Walker prepared if needed to step in to help Steelers ILB group

Mykal Walker is palpably glad to be here — as in, in the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room.

But he just can’t figure out how ended up here — as in, on his fourth team over a three-month span, cut three times since August.

“I never thought I would be in the situation,” Walker said after practice Wednesday, “especially with the body of work that I put up in my career.”

Walker’s situation, though, might just change this weekend. Signed to the Steelers’ practice squad last week, Walker could be in line for an elevation to the active roster as soon as Sunday’s game against the Green Bay Packers.

The Steelers’ most-used inside linebacker, Cole Holcomb, is out for the season because of a knee injury. They replaced his spot on the 53-man roster with a running back, leaving open the likelihood a practice-squad player would be summoned reinforcement to serve as a fourth ILB for games.

That would be great news to Walker, a four-year NFL veteran of 49 games.

“I have been itching to get back on the field,” Walker said. “I mean, eight games, nine (weeks), I haven’t played yet (this season). I am trying to show the coaches, I can play (anywhere). Wherever they need me at, I have showed them I can play. So for me, it’s just learning the playbook, cramming it all in, and then showing them I can go out and play it.”

A fourth-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2020, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound Walker started 10 of the Falcons’ first 11 games last season to give him 20 career starts. But he was waived during training camp, then waived again after two weeks with the Chicago Bears. He spent six weeks on the Las Vegas Raiders’ practice squad before getting released Oct. 24.

The Steelers picked him up six days later. They couldn’t have imagined at the time that there would be such an acute need for a capable veteran inside linebacker later that week. Holcomb suffered a serious knee injury during the first half of last Thursday’s win against the Tennessee Titans.

Walker said if he’s needed for a game as early as this week, he will be ready to support starters Kwon Alexander and Elandon Roberts.

“Absolutely,” he said. “I have (Aaron Curry), a great (position) coach, getting me up to speed, being with him the last couple days, getting at it. The linebackers have been great. Kwon, I have known him forever, he’s really going to help me. (Roberts), he’s the mastermind of the operation. They are really getting me up to speed.

“The linebackers room is like a family. It’s been really cool the way they have taken me in and gotten me ready to play. So I think if my number is called I will be ready.”

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