Michael Penix Jr. will be the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons this upcoming NFL 2025 season. However, he just received bad news as one of the players tasked with his protection will not be there for a while.
Head coach Raheem Morris told the media that starting right tackle, Kaleb McGary, will miss “significant time” after sustaining an injury on the team’s Wednesday practice. The NFL season starts in two weeks.
McGary will likely be put on the injured reserve list. This means he wouldn’t be on the 53-man roster or make them go through waivers. The other side of the coin is that McGary will miss at least four games before being able to play again.
McGary is a key piece on the O-Line
McGary, given that Penix Jr. is a leftie, was tasked with protecting the quarterback’s blind side. Hence, losing him is a very bad thing. This is even worse than expected, as Storm Norton, McGary’s backup, is also injured and will miss from six to eight weeks after getting ankle surgery.
McGary signed a two-year, $30 million contract extension with the Falcons earlier this month. Now he will miss at least the first month of the season and leave a hole that’s very tough to replace.
Who will protect Penix Jr.’s blind side?
Elijah Wilkinson practiced as the right tackle on Thursday. Last year, he started nine games as the Falcons left guard. The good news is Wilkinson is no stranger to the right tackle position. He started 19 games there for the Broncos back in 2019 and 2020.
The rest of the offensive line should be a good unit. Guards Chris Lindstrom and Matthew Bergeron are more than capable of doing their part alongside center Ryan Neuzil. Jake Matthews will hold the left tackle slot really great too. However, the right tackle is a big issue now.