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Got a case of the Mondays? Well, we’ve got the cure in the form of today’s Falcoholinks.
The Falcons held their rookie minicamp on Friday and Saturday, and a few things stood out from the reports out of Flowery Branch. Marcus Green, the versatile offensive weapon Atlanta selected with its final pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, was sidelined with a hamstring injury. Don’t worry, though — Green is expected to be ready to go for OTAs.
Both of Atlanta’s first-round picks this year, Chris Lindstrom and Kaleb McGary, were on the field for rookie minicamp. They both ran drills with the first-team offensive line, and both lined up on the right side, with Lindstrom at Guard and McGary at tackle, obviously.
Injury updates
We got some updates about some key players who landed on injured reserve last season. The good news is that Devonta Freeman is expected to be fully ready to go for training camp. On the other side of the ball, Ricardo Allen and Keanu Neal are both “on track” with their rehab and recovery, but whether or not they’ll be healthy enough to participate in training camp remains up in the air.
Welcome, rookies
The Falcons did lock up Kaleb McGary and cornerback Kendall Sheffield last week, leaving Chris Lindstrom as the only rookie who has yet to ink his deal with Atlanta. The current CBA makes negotiating rookie deals pretty straightforward, so I wouldn’t think it will take Lindstrom much longer to sign.
Curious about these new draft picks? Eric Robinson dove into John Cominsky’s tape, and you can read the full scouting report on the new defensive end here. Eric also broke down new cornerback Jordan Miller here.
We now know what numbers most of the rookies and free agents the Falcons signed this offseason will be wearing, and our Evan Birchfield has the details here.
What else is new?
The Falcons have some promising undrafted free agents in the fold, and Dave made some early projections about which ones might make it through roster cuts. Atlanta also made a couple of roster moves over the weekend, releasing running back Jeremy Langford and adding running back Tony Brooks-James, an undrafted rookie out of Oregon.
Everyone path isn’t the same. From day 1 all I wanted was my opportunity to prove myself. Through all my ups and downs I just wanna say thank you to everyone that had a helping hand during my journey, with all being said YA BOY IS AN ATLANTA FALCON. #RISEUP pic.twitter.com/kNoqc6glB5
— Tony Brooks-James (@_TonytooTone) May 11, 2019
The Falcons are going to have to make some decisions about veteran depth after the 2019 season. Which guys are likely to stick around? Dave broke it down.
Why do people keep saying cornerback is the Falcons’ biggest need right now? That’s what ESPN thinks, but we don’t necessarily agree that it’s the case.
We knew Matt Ryan was going to be special from Day 1. Remember his first pass as a pro, the one that Michael Jenkins took straight to the end zone? Adnan Ikic reminisces about it here, in his first article in a new series celebrating Matty Ice’s finest moments.
While we’re walking down memory lane, let’s look back on one of the best pass rushers in Falcons history, the one and only John Abraham. Evan had that covered in last week’s Throwback Thursday piece.
Thomas Dimitroff offered some encouraging information about the progress with Julio Jones’ contract negotiations.
(1 of 2) Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff said he's “very encouraged” by Julio Jones extension talks with agent Jimmy Sexton: “Both parties are in a good place. There’s no timeline but I’m not worried. Julio will be around while we’re working on it.” ... (cont.)
— Jeff Schultz (@JeffSchultzATL) May 11, 2019
Jones is also expected to participate in minicamp, and possibly OTAs, per the Athletic’s Jeff Schultz.
As far as Grady Jarrett’s future is concerned, that’s not settled yet. There’s a possibility he will play under the tag this season, D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.