Teams have had the option of stashing two players on IR with return designations over the past two Augusts. While that was the expectation for Kaleb McGary, the Falcons’ roster revealed a significant setback for the team’s O-line.
Atlanta did not stash McGary on IR with a return designation, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo clarifies. That will sideline the recently extended blocker for the season. That deals a blow to a Falcons team that also is without swing tackle Storm Norton, who suffered a knee injury recently.
The Falcons did place Norton on their IR-return list, which also includes defensive lineman Ta’Quon Graham. Norton is expected to miss between six to eight weeks. McGary injury specifics are not yet known, but him being done for the year deals a blow to a Falcons team employing one of the NFL’s two left-handed starting QBs (in Michael Penix Jr.).
Raheem Morris did say last week that McGary would miss significant time, and it now represents good timing on his part to secure a second Falcons extension. Atlanta gave McGary a two-year, $30MM deal that brings $17.99MM guaranteed, per Spotrac. McGary will have plenty of time to rehab, but locking in that guarantee when he did probably spared him a value loss in free agency.
McGary, 30, was tied to a three-year deal that expired after the 2025 season. He joined Jawaan Taylor and Mike McGlinchey on a strong RT market in 2023. While the former first-round pick did not match the eventual Chiefs and Broncos RTs’ contracts, he did well and delivered two more years as a Falcons starter. The seventh-year veteran has started 92 career games, never missing more than three in a season.
Norton will be an option to replace McGary once he comes off IR, but for now, the Falcons are in a bind. They did trade for second-year blocker Michael Jerrell, whose 245 rookie-year snaps all came at right tackle, earlier today. Jerrell joins veteran swingman Elijah Wilkinson as immediate options. Wilkinson, a former Broncos swing tackle who had shifted inside in recent years, became McGary’s immediate replacement in practice. The Falcons are already replacing Drew Dalman, their three-year center starter who signed a high-priced Bears deal; they will now see more O-line turnover to start the season.