Anthony Walker Jr.
CLEVELAND BROWNS
| Position | College | Years in the NFL |
|---|---|---|
| Linebacker | Northwestern University | 7 |
Demonstrates Excellence on the Field
In college at Northwestern, Anthony Walker Jr. started 33 of 38 contests in three seasons and amassed 278 tackles, 7.5 sacks, six forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries, 12 pass breakups, and four interceptions with one returned for a touchdown.
In 2020, while with the Colts, he was the only player in the NFL to record at least 15 tackles in two games in 2020 and recorded a single-game career-high 17 tackles against Jacksonville in 2019.
Walker was signed by the Browns in March 2021. In his first season, he led the Browns in tackles (113), despite missing four games. In 2022, he suffered a season-ending injury, tearing his quadriceps tendon on September 23 but did not let this keep him down and fought hard to come back in time for the 2023 season. He is currently in his third season with the Browns, serving as a team captain for the second season in a row.
Demonstrates Dedication and Commitment to Community Efforts this Year
Throughout this season, Walker has been a leading voice for the Brown in the community. The Browns community focus has three pillars: youth football, education, and social justice. Walker has shown an interest and passion for all three, spending his time on his off days to make sure he impacts community members in these spaces.
This year, he has volunteered at over 10 community events and sometimes attends multiple per week. Walker attended the team's Girls High School Flag Football Championship, showing his dedication to growing the game for girls. He also participated in a Stay in the Game! / Youth Football event at a local middle school, encouraging
school attendance and getting kids active at the same time. In addition, Walker was the only player to attend our organization-wide staff volunteerism day, Summer Blitz, where he helped put together "welcome back" bags for teachers and students in the Stay in the Game! Network.
As the first-ever Stay in the Game! Attendance Network ambassador, Walker is the face for the Browns Foundation's flagship program, which encourages students to stay in school. Education is extremely important to Walker, as his father was an educator. In connection with the ambassador role, Walker is a part of attendance campaign materials for schools and has recorded promotional videos to promote school attendance. He also hosted his own back-to-school event in September, where he provided backpacks, school supplies, and ice cream for 100 students. This season, Walker will be supporting Stay in the Game! through My Cause My Cleats (MCMC). He attended a school visit at a local elementary school where 15 students had the opportunity to help design his MCMC. His role with Stay in the Game! will only continue to grow with several more events planned this season.
Walker is also passionate about social justice, serving as a judge on the panel for the Browns JumpStart Small Business Impact Showcase. The event's goal was highlighting small, minority-owned businesses in a shark tank-style competition for funding. Walker sat as a judge and is also currently exploring ideas on how to make this program more impactful.
Additionally, he attended a dinner at EDWINS Leadership & Restaurant Institute, a Browns Be the Solution partner that does significant work in the re-entry space by training and employing exclusively formerly incarcerated individuals at the high-end French restaurant. Most recently, Walker attended the Browns annual Halloween Fashion Show for kids battling cancer in partnership with The Littlest Heroes and University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children's. In his second year attending, Walker made sure that the children enjoyed the evening and even stayed later to spend time with each individual family in attendance.
Demonstrates Dedication and Commitment to Community Efforts in Years Past
Upon joining the Browns, he quickly stood out as a community leader. From the start of Training Camp, he engaged in team-wide events like assembling care packages for a local domestic violence center and participated in various Tuesday Visits, including an organizational-wide signing day and a virtual hospital visit. He has also supported the Lupus Foundation of America and contributed as a celebrity golfer at the annual Cleveland Browns Foundation Golf Outing to raise funds.
Although he suffered a season-ending injury in 2022, Walker was still as active as he could be throughout the season. He attended Washington Commanders quarterback Jacoby Brissett's Halloween Fashion Show for kids battling cancer to help support the children, even though he was still in a brace and on crutches. Finally, to cap off the year, Walker participated in a team-wide adopt a family program. Each position group was tasked with adopting a family for the holiday season, culminating in a giant pizza party in the fieldhouse.
Demonstrates Consistency in Positive Character and Models a Lifestyle of Giving Back
Walker is a role model for the entire Cleveland Browns team and lives a daily life of giving back to his community. As a locker room role model, Walker is admired by many younger players on the team. Before this year's training camp, he led the team in signing the "T" of "START" in the hallway, symbolizing Smart, Tough, Accountable, Resilient, and Team. He's a prominent advocate in the Browns social justice initiatives, actively involved in revitalizing the player-led Social Justice Committee alongside fellow teammates.
As mentioned above, Walker is the first ever Stay in the Game! Network Ambassador. As the ambassador, his image/likeness is used on campaign/promotional materials, he creates videos/PSAs for social media use, and attends most of the Stay in the Game! School visits.
He has also inspired rookie Charlie Thomas III to support the My Cause My Cleats initiative on his cleats.
