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Another man down! The Atlanta Falcons rebuilt their struggling defensive line this offseason. Things had been looking good, but the team has been dealt another blow with yet another injury. We were surprised when the Falcons signed Jack Crawford to a 3-year, $10.3 million, but he was moved to defensive tackle more or less full-time and had been making some impact plays for the Falcons.
We got a warning to expect some real bad news from ESPN’s Vaughn McClure.
Falcons DL Jack Crawford (biceps) has MRI scheduled for the morning. It "doesn't look good" according to source. https://t.co/uIFxp09FEK
— vaughn mcclure (@vxmcclure23) October 2, 2017
Bad news has been confirmed, also per Vaughn McClure.
Expect Falcons DT Jack Crawford to be placed on IR today with that biceps injury. Falcons worked out a bunch of d linemen yesterday.
— vaughn mcclure (@vxmcclure23) October 3, 2017
Crawford may not have been a starter, but he was an important depth player that was getting impressive penetration into the backfield. The team has had injuries to Vic Beasley, Courtney Upshaw, and now Crawford. Upshaw may be healthy after the bye week, but Atlanta is still getting dangerously thin in the trenches, which is probably why they worked out five defensive linemen yesterday.
We have no idea yet if Crawford will be able to return in 2017, but if it is a torn biceps, it will likely cost him the rest of the season. It’s a shame for an effective player and for the Falcons, who won’t be able to sign anyone as good as Crawford off the street in October. We’ll have to hope an imposing defensive line rotation coming into the season can keep it going without him.