Getty The Bears signed former Falcons linebacker Mykal Walker, right, to their 90-man roster on Monday, August 14.
The Chicago Bears are ramping up the competition inside their linebacker room for the final two weeks of training camp, claiming a highly-productive former Atlanta Falcons starter off the waivers to improve depth at the position.
According to the team’s official transaction wire for August 14, the Bears claimed 25-year-old linebacker Mykal Walker — who started 12 games in 2022 — off the waivers from the Falcons on Monday and waived second-year linebacker Kuony Deng in a corresponding move to free up space for Walker on the 53-man roster.
Walker saw a significant snap increase in his third season with the Falcons in 2022, playing a career-high 769 defensive snaps after playing a combined 578 over his first two seasons and finishing with the third-most tackles (107) on Atlanta’s defense. He also brought plenty of splash play to the Falcons’ defense with four tackles for loss, one sack, two interceptions and six pass deflections — all of which were career-high marks.
While Walker will almost certainly not contend for a starting spot with the Bears after they made some high-level free agent investments during the offseason, he could have a shot at making the 53-man roster as a rotational piece for the room if he either beats out Dylan Cole, Jack Sanborn or Noah Sewell or the Bears keep six for the initial room.
The Bears will play their next preseason game at 7 p.m. ET on the road against the Indianapolis Colts. The 53-man roster deadline is set for 4 p.m. ET on August 29.
Dylan Cole Stands as Walker’s Top Roster Competition
The Bears are relatively grounded at the linebacker position heading into 2023. They signed both Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards to long-term contracts in March and added a fifth-rounder Noah Sewell on the third day of the 2023 NFL draft, adding quite a bit of talent to a room that also returned 2022 rookie standout Jack Sanborn. In all likelihood, there is no danger of any of the four of them missing the 53-man roster cut.
Cole is someone whom Walker stands a chance of beating out in camp, though.
The Bears signed Cole — who turned 29 in May — to a one-year contract in late March, taking a chance on a six-year veteran who played solid ball for the Tennessee Titans in 2022 and was a core special teams contributor for their third-phase unit. He recorded 38 tackles, 23 defensive snaps, five pressures and one sack over his 15 games and eight starts on defense. He also finished as Pro Football Focus’ 26th-highest-graded special teams player (83.3) and finished with the sixth-most special teams tackles (11) in the NFL, giving him plenty of upside for a rebuilding Bears team needing good talent.
Cole, however, did not play in the Bears’ preseason opener against his former team for reasons unknown. It is possible the Bears felt comfortable about his progress and were more interested in seeing their young talent play. Still, it is hard to reconcile that with Chicago trotting out nearly all of their linebackers in the game with the exception of Edmunds (who is injured) and Sanborn (who is coming back from a 2022 injury).
Walker will have his work cut out for him trying to learn the Bears’ defensive scheme in a time crunch, but keep an eye on his usage in practice and Saturday’s game against the Colts. A couple of good sessions could turn up the heat for Cole in his roster pursuit.
Noah Sewell Having Strong Rookie Camp With Bears
In other linebacker news, Sewell has been one of several rookie standouts for the Bears in the first few weeks of 2023 training camp. The fifth-round pick was drafted with the expectation that he would compete with Sanborn for the starting strongside linebacker job alongside Edwards (weakside) and Edmunds (middle), and he has made full use of the additional reps that have come his way while Sanborn has been in recovery.
Sewell also took things a step further in the Bears’ first preseason game, logging a fifth-most four tackles (three solos) along with a sack, a tackle for loss and a quarterback hit and showcasing the quick-diagnostic skills and physicality that drew the Bears to him.
“He’s doing well,” Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said of Sewell last week. “He’s very strong, right? He’s very instinctive. He’s got good ball skills. And he’s very instinctive. I just like the way he knows where the ball is. He can key read fast, and I think it’s a good competition. We’re leaving it there, and I know that Jack hasn’t had a bunch of reps to be able to fully compete in there, and I’m excited about when he gets back to be able to compete at that spot, and we’ll see where it goes.”