Atlanta Falcons cornerback Jeff Okudah was injured during Friday’s training camp practice and had to be carted off the field. Naturally, fans are assuming the worst for Okudah, who was acquired in an offseason trade with the Detroit Lions.
After practice, head coach Arthur Smith told reporters that Okudah suffered an ankle injury and would need an MRI to learn the severity. Smith sounded somewhat optimistic in his comments but didn’t want to speculate one way or the other.
Falcons HC Arthur Smith on CB Jeff Okudah: pic.twitter.com/N4hZ3XfZnd
— Michael Rothstein (@mikerothstein) August 4, 2023
Smith went on to praise the team’s depth at cornerback. The Falcons have a few players like Tre Flowers and Clark Phillips III who would be able to step in if necessary.
Phillips, a fourth-round draft pick, has been one of the early camp standouts, while Flowers is a proven veteran with several starts under his belt.
“We do feel like we have good depth at DBs.”
Arthur Smith said there’s good competition happening with this group (between Flowers, Armstrong, Hall, Phillips, etc). Obviously, you hope Okudah is OK, but the Falcons have done a bit of work to reload behind the would-be starters…
— Tori McElhaney (@tori_mcelhaney) August 4, 2023
The Falcons also signed four former XFL players to the 90-man training camp roster on Friday morning.