When Kaleb McGary dropped to the ground after individual drills Wednesday, the Falcons immediately knew something was very wrong.
Falcons coach Raheem Morris said after the 31-13 loss to the Cowboys on Friday that McGary will miss significant time and likely is headed for some time on injured reserve.
“The thing I’ll say to you now, is he’ll miss a significant time,” Morris said. “Obviously, it looks like an IR or whatever the case may be. … But he’ll miss a significant time.”
After McGary hit the ground Wednesday, the team circled in a big huddle as the training staff worked on McGary. He was loaded on to a cart and driven to the steps of the locker room.
He tried to put his weight down on his left leg, but couldn’t. He needed the assistance of two aides to help him get back into the locker room.
The Falcons, who have been extremely cautious with their top-level players, will not have McGary for an undetermined period of time.
With McGary (lower left leg) and Storm Norton (ankle) expected to miss time, the team’s depth at the tackle position will get tested.
Elijah Wilkinson, 30, moved to right tackle after McGary went down. He didn’t play against the Cowboys out of an abundance of caution.
Wilkinson, who is 6-foot-6 and 310 pounds, has played in 79 NFL games and made 45 starts. He started nine games at left guard for the Falcons in 2022. He also has played with the Broncos, Bears and Cardinals after playing in college at Massachusetts.
“The truth is in the guys that we have,” Morris said. “You talk about Elijah Wilkinson stepping up.”
Rookie Jack Nelson, who was drafted in the seventh round out of Wisconsin, started all three exhibition games.
Nelson played all 38 of the offensive snaps against the Lions on Aug. 8 and 47 of 67 (70%) of the offensive snaps against the Titans on Aug. 15.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez/AJC
“We got Jack Nelson, significant amount of reps in the (exhibition games),” Morris said. “We’re able to come out there and get some of those guys off of those things. We got the veteran in Jake Matthews. We got people like (Brandon) Parker that can play more. He’s played significant ball in the National Football League.”
The Falcons also have Jordan Williams on their 90-man training-camp roster.
Parker, who started against the Cowboys, played 36 snaps (95%) against the Lions and 20 (30%) against the Titans. Williams didn’t play against the Lions and played 20 snaps (30%) against the Titans.
The Falcons like their depth, but will closely watch the waiver wire with the cutdown looming. Teams must trim rosters to 53 players by 4 p.m. Tuesday.
McGary recently signed a two-year contract extension worth $30 million.
McGary, 30, was set to become a free agent after the completion of the 2025 season. He’s now under contract through the 2027 season.
A first-round draft pick of the Falcons in 2019, McGary shared that his biggest focal points during the offseason were increasing his strength, size and speed. He aimed to make his reactions more efficient to help him with his pass protection.
The Falcons did not view McGary as the blindside protector in the traditional sense because they run a lot of shotgun and pistol formations.
McGary has overcome extensive health issues to carve out a respectable seven-year career.
Before being drafted he had to overcome a heart arrhythmia, which is an abnormal heartbeat that can cause fatigue, shortness of breath and an increased risk of stroke.
Once that was under control, he had to battle to get himself in top-notch NFL shape. He has started in 92 of 93 games in the NFL, including 16 games last season.
“We got to go find a way to win football games, whoever is out there playing for us,” Morris said. “So, we look forward to that challenge.”
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