Falcons DT Grady Jarrett could miss multiple weeks with ankle sprain, team waives DL Justin Zimmer

The good vibes of football refuse to give the Atlanta Falcons a break, as another defensive starter has been lost for some time to injury.

Falcons DT Grady Jarrett could be out for a couple of weeks with his ankle sprain.

It’s a disturbing development that takes away arguably the best player in the front seven at the moment and does not help the struggling defense.

The injury means Jack Crawford will no doubt take the starting snaps in Jarrett’s stead. He’s flashed a lot of promise this season and will only see more time now as he tries to steady the interior of the Falcons’ DL. DE Takkarist McKinley may also get some inside reps to help boost the pass rush there.

Rookie DT Deadrin Senat and veteran DT Terrell McClain will need to uptick their respective contributions as well.

The team added former Jaguars DT Michael Bennett and worked out DE Robert Ayers and Kony Ealy Tuesday, and waived DL Justin Zimmer. This indicates that the Falcons are not comfortable with the depth on the defensive line at the moment, particularly as the pass rush and run defense both struggle.

So, another day, another injury. Losing Jarrett is just the pits, but it might only be for a few weeks. The team will enter the softer part of their schedule once this Pittsburgh game is over with, but lose that, and you’re at 1-4, and the season begins to look lost before it even really got going.

Here’s hoping Jarrett heals up quickly and that the team’s plan to withstand his injury works.