Veteran Linebacker Could be Steelers’ Unheralded Solution

PITTSBURGH — In October, Myles Jack was training to become a pilot and focusing his energy on being the owner of a hockey team, the Allen Americans. But weeks later, the Steelers would experience a rash of linebacker injuries, with Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander going down for the season. Pittsburgh called Jack up to join the team’s practice squad and get back into football shape.

When he came in, Jack had kept in shape but was far from in football shape. But after a month of practice, he feels like he is finally there. The team does, too, and Jack was elevated from the team’s practice squad on Friday. That signals Jack will have a significant role for the first time all season, but he thinks he’s ready.

“Definitely good to be back,” Jack said. “Excited. Looking forward to just running out of the tunnel with my teammates. When my number is called, I’ll just be looking to get active and get back to it.”

Steelers linebacker Myles Jack at practice, Dec. 19, 2023 – Ed Thompson / Steelers Now

Jack is in a fascinating spot at this point in his NFL career. A once-retired linebacker who had an elite peak. But Jack is coming off a season plagued by a nagging groin injury. That groin injury, as he described it, was a torn groin muscle, and throughout much of the week leading up to games, Jack could never even walk without a significant limp, let alone play football.

He hopes he can shrug all of that off and show that there is some juice left in the tank.

“I was pushing through a lot of things last year and that’s probably a bad habit of mine,” Jack said. I’ve done that a couple times in my career. But definitely last year I was not 100%. This year, I’ve had plenty of rest, so I feel really good.”

Jack has a new number and attitude, but he hopes to provide the team with something. They’ll need it. Offenses have targeted running backs and tight ends to the flat and over the middle of the field throughout the last three weeks during this skid, forcing the team to get shredded up and down the field.

If Jack can find some of that past magic, he could be the elixir to fixing those ills. Mykal Walker, Mark Robinson, and Blake Martinez all have been given chances next to Elandon Roberts, but no one has stepped up just yet. Pittsburgh is banking on Jack being the hidden solution.