After holding out hope that RT Kaleb McGary would be able to return at some point this season, the Falcons revealed a devastating injury update on roster cutdown day. Unfortunately, the lower leg injury that McGary suffered last week will cost him the entire 2025 season, as Atlanta placed him on injured reserve without a designation to return yesterday.
Falcons Approaching Worst-Case Scenario Following Devastating Injury Update
As far as Falcons injury updates go, this is just about worst-case scenario. With less than two weeks to go until their season-opener, Atlanta has lost their starting right tackle and QB Michael Penix Jr.‘s blindside protector.
The Falcons extended McGary just over three weeks ago, locking him in through the 2027 season. But, they won’t be able to get a look at him on the field until the 2026 season.
McGary has been the Falcons’ starting right tackle since he joined the team in 2019, playing in 93 out of a possible 100 games. But, his value extended well beyond his availability, at least, until this most recent injury update.
In her story announcing McGary’s extension on August 4, Falcons Senior Reporter Tori McElhaney highlighted the importance of the continuity along the offensive line.
“Very rarely do you see a core group of linemen continue with each other for more than a couple years,” McElhaney wrote. “With the way the contracts of McGary, Chris Lindstrom, Jake Matthews and Matthew Bergeron are set up, that means this group (which has already spent three seasons together) will continue forward as a collective unit.”
Even with the departure of center Drew Dalman in free agency, the Falcons will have an eight-game starter from 2024 in Ryan Neuzil to take his place. But, now that they’ve lost McGary for the year following his injury update, it’s tough to project the performance of this unit in 2025.
What’s the Plan for the Falcons Offensive Line?
Now that the initial shock of the injury update has worn off, it’s time to plan ahead. What does the Falcons offensive line look like in 2025?
The Falcons offensive line achieved a rare level of consistency between 2023 and 2024, as they returned all five starters. As Falcons Digital Team Reporter Terrin Waack noted in her position review this January, that consistency is “an anomaly in the league.”
Barring anymore injuries, the Falcons will return three out of their five starters (LT Jake Matthews, LG Matthew Bergeron, RG Chris Lindstrom) from both 2023 and 2024. At center, Ryan Neuzil will reprise that starting role that he held for eight weeks last season. But, that still leaves a hole at right tackle, so who are the candidates to fill in following the Kaleb McGary injury news?
Initially, nine-year veteran Elijah Wilkinson stepped in at right tackle for the rest of last Wednesday’s practice. But, the Falcons decided to hold him out of their preseason finale on Friday out of precaution.
During that loss, rookie seventh-round pick Jack Nelson and eighth-year veteran Brandon Parker played the majority of snaps at right tackle. But, Parker didn’t make the final roster yesterday.
Yesterday, Atlanta traded for a potential replacement at right tackle, sending a conditional 2027 seventh-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks for OT Michael Jerrell. But, there’s no guarantee that the second-year lineman will develop into a viable starter.
The Falcons will still have an opportunity to monitor other teams’ practice squads and the waiver wire, but this injury update has surely thrown a wrench into their plans.
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