From 'Call of Duty' to Eagles: Myles Jack Details Sudden Journey

Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Myles Jack arrived in town for a workout with two pairs of underwear, two pairs of sweats, two pairs of socks, and his Bible, but is worried more about learning the playbook as quickly as he can.

PHILADELPHIA – He’s had a career full of ups and downs, so a delayed flight that was supposed to go wheels up at 10 p.m. from Jacksonville to Philadelphia on Saturday night didn’t take off until 3 a.m. Sunday morning might not have seemed like a big deal.

Unless, of course, you had a workout waiting for you as Jack did in just a handful of hours at the Philadelphia Eagles’ training facility.

“I got a workout Sunday afternoon, so I’m jet-lagged,” he said. “They basically tell me, ‘Get all of your stuff out of the hotel.’ I had a return flight, so I don’t know if I’m staying or not. I go work out. Everybody tells me, ‘Thanks for coming.’ I’m thinking I’m going back home, and next thing I know I’m getting signed.”

Jack aced the workout and now he has another problem, and it isn't the crash course in learning the playbook he is going through right now.

“I got two pairs of draws (underwear), two pairs of sweats, two pairs of socks to me name, and my Bible in my bag,” he said. “Like I don’t have anything. I’m staying at the hotel. But I wouldn’t rather have it any other way. I’m here now. I went to Ross to buy me some white T-shirts, and I’m here now. That’s how it goes.

“They give you a playbook, and the next day you’re out there practicing … One week you’re on the couch playing ‘Call of Duty,’ the next week you’re playing with the Super Bowl (runners-up). Time waits for nobody, and I’m just figuring it out as fast as (I can).”

Jack, who signed a one-year deal, went through just his second practice with the Eagles on Wednesday, Day 9 of training camp, as did Zach Cunningham, another linebacker Philly signed to a one-year deal on the same day Jack signed.

Jack is still just 27 after arriving in the league at 20 and as the 36th overall pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2016.

By 2017, the Jaguars had the best defense in franchise history as they advanced to the AFC championship game where they lost to the New England Patriots.

In the summer of 2019, Jack was handed a four-year contract extension worth $57 million, making him the third highest-paid player at his position behind the Seattle Seahawks’ Bobby Wagner and the New York Jets’ C.J. Mosely.

Jack was on an all-time high. Then came the lows. 

The Jaguars cut him after the 2021 season and he landed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, signing a two-year deal worth $16M. That high was followed by another low when the Steelers released him after one season.

Jack had no idea what would happen after that and still wondered what his future held once training camps opened, and he was still on his couch.

“It was definitely a first for me,” he said. “You’re just working out, working hard every single day. You’re not signed. You don’t really know what’s going on. You don’t really understand your future. You don’t know what you’re going through. But at the end of the day, God has a plan, but this is the best place for me to be.”

What his role will be once he is up to speed on the playbook has yet to be determined.

Nakobe Dean is closer to returning from an ankle injury that cost him the last three practices, and he was anointed the MIKE starter heading into the offseason.

Could that change? At this point, all options appear to be on the table at the linebacker position.

Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.

Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Philadelphia Eagles? Click Here.

Want even more Philadelphia Eagles news? Check out the SI.com team page here