The Denver Broncos surely aren’t making any heads turn this offseason and Thursday afternoon they continued that trend. The team signed Reggie Walker, a seventh-year, journeyman linebacker.
Walker played four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals before spending the last two seasons with the San Diego Chargers. The Broncos announced Thursday that they had agreed to a one-year contract.
Walker was signed by the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2009 and never really caught on with the team. He played less than 400 snaps in his four seasons there as mostly an inside linebacker, according to Pro Football Focus.
His best season as a professional came in 2013 when he played in all 16 games with the Chargers and got the only six starts of his career. He totaled 36, of his career 73 tackles in 2013 and also added three sacks. However, consistency was a problem for Walker. He struggled against the run and his rushing ability from the middle was less than effective. His coverage skills were the best aspect of his game and he received a decent -0.1 grade as a result, per Pro Football Focus.
After a solid season, Walker returned to a minimal role with the Chargers after nagging hamstring and ankle injures kept him off the field. He saw action in 11 games in 2014 but still could not be counted on for a majority of the plays each week.
The signing says less about the career of Walker as it says about the implications of the Broncos talks, or lack thereof with Nate Irving. He is an unrestricted free agent and has garnered interest from multiple teams including the Cardinals and the Indianapolis Colts. Irving started the season off well, stuffing the run and covering the middle of the field as best as he had in his whole career before a knee injury placed him on the injured reserve.
If a deal cannot be reached with Irving that leaves the recently signed Brandon Marshall and Danny Trevathan to carry the load in the middle with Steven Johnson, Todd Davis, Lamin Barrow, Corey Nelson and Reggie Walker as possible reserves.
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