Surprise Falcons offseason cut lands on Raiders practice squad

The Falcons waived veteran Mykal Walker in what was one of the most surprising moves of the offseason.

After spending three seasons in Atlanta, the new regime decided his time was better served somewhere else. Since being drafted in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL draft, he mostly contributed in a reserve role until 2022, when he became a full-time starter, totaling 107 tackles (four for a loss), one sack, two interceptions, and six passes defended.

There’s no doubt that he had his fair share of struggles when he was on the field, especially last year in a full-time role, but the decision to move on was stunning nonetheless. Eventually, Troy Andersen replaced him. Still, he had by far the most experience among the backups at the position as well as plenty of value on special teams.

Maybe the lack of ties to Ryan Nielsen factored into the Falcons’ decision to part ways with the Fresno State product. It didn’t take long for him to find a new home, though. The Bears, who were first on the waiver priority list, claimed Walker immediately. However, his time in Chicago was short, and he has now landed on the Raiders practice squad, Las Vegas announced

Ironically, we saw Walker’s replacement, Nate Landman, get the start last week against the Packers in place of an injured Troy Andersen. Admittedly, I thought he would struggle because Green Bay would attack Landman all afternoon, but he more than held his own. He rarely messed up and even made a couple of big time tackles in the run game.

Clearly, the Falcons coaching staff saw something in Landman and decided to save a few bucks by waiving Walker. We wish Mykal the best of luck in Vegas.

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Photographer: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire