(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)
After being released by the Jaguars on Tuesday in a cap-saving move, it didn't take Myles Jack long to find a new team, as he was signed by the Steelers to a two-year, $16 million deal on Wednesday afternoon.
The Steelers didn't have to make a strong pitch for Jack to join the black and gold, as just having a conversation with Mike Tomlin sealed the deal. Jack said in a one-on-one interview with Mike Prisuta of Steelers.com that he got goosebumps when Tomlin told him that "we need a defense to win championships."
“Obviously the individual players, they're household names," Jack said about playing on the Steelers defense during a Zoom interview on Thursday afternoon with the media. "But the organization, the history behind it, the expectations, the mentality you have to have to be a part of this."
Jack, 26, started 82 of 88 games since being selected by the Jaguars in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft. In his six-year career, Jack has recorded 513 total tackles (335 solos), 6.5 sacks, 19 tackles for loss, 17 quarterback hits, 15 passes defended, three interceptions, two forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and two touchdowns (one pick-six and one fumble recovery).
Jack produced more than 100 tackles in three of the past four seasons with the Jaguars. In 2019, Jack was rewarded a four-year, $57-million contract in 2019.
While Jack had personal success, the teams he played on in Jacksonville were mostly pretty awful. Minus the 2017 season when the Jaguars made it to the AFC Championship Game, Jack was on losing teams.
"Me coming off two years where we were the No. 1 pick back-to-back having losing seasons, I'm definitely eager to be a part of a winning organization," Jack told Prisuta.
Jack has to be thrilled that he's going from Urban Meyer to Tomlin. Meyer didn't even make it through the entire season last year before being fired. There have been several reports on just how toxic Meyer was in Jacksonville. The latest coming out on Monday by The Athletic. Jack won't have to worry about a lack of stability and having a narcissist at head coach in Pittsburgh. That's for sure.