Takkarist McKinley, Ty Sambrailo to miss upcoming practices with injuries

Takkarist McKinley and Ty Sambrailo both missed Monday’s practice, so it’s no great surprise to learn that they’re not out there on Wednesday. The good news is that neither one is expected to be out multiple weeks, but out of an abundance of caution and common sense, the Falcons figure to hold both in reserve through this next block of practices, likely in the hopes of having them suit up next Friday night against the Jets.

Takk’s injury will be helped by rest, and while we don’t know exactly what’s going on with Sambrailo, hopefully that’s the case for him as well.

Their absences give players further down the depth chart an increased chance to shine. With Takk out, young pass rushers like J’Terius Jones figure to get a longer look over the next few days, which could help them bolster their cases for roster spots as the summer winds down. Sambrailo’s absence, meanwhile, gives Matt Gono and Austin Pasztor a genuine shot to gain a leg up on 2017’s swing tackle, who was somewhere between competent and unimpressive during his playing time last year. Gono’s a particularly interesting prospect, and he should at least be able to push for a practice squad spot if he can do good work in the days ahead.

In more positive news, Ito Smith is back practicing, and he’ll try to gain an early upper hand over promising UDFA rookies Justin Crawford and Malik Williams. Crawford, in particular, has impressed early.

That’s hopefully it for injury updates today, but we’ll keep an eye out.