Chicago Bears claim linebacker Mykal Walker off waivers, waive Kuony Deng

On Monday, the Chicago Bears were awarded linebacker Mykal Walker off waivers from the Atlanta Falcons, and to make room on their 90-man roster, they waived linebacker Kuony Deng.

Atlanta waived Walker yesterday after he started their preseason opener on Friday night in Miami. In that game against the Dolphins, he racked up four tackles while playing 24 snaps on defense and 11 more on special teams.

Walker (6’3”, 230) was originally a fourth-round pick of the Falcons in 2020, and he’s started 20 of the 49 games he’s played in his career. Last season he started 12 of 16 games while compiling 107 tackles, four tackles for loss, two interceptions, six passes defended, and a sack.

He didn’t play much special teams last year, but in his first two years in the league, he was in on nearly 500 snaps in the third phase.

I reached out to someone who covers the Falcons to find out why the soon-to-be 26-year-old Walker was waived, and I was told he wasn’t having a very good offseason but that the “talent is there,” and it may just be that he’s not a scheme fit for new defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen.

There could also be a salary cap element to Atlanta parting ways with Walker.

What are your thoughts on the Bears adding Walker to their linebacker room?