The heat was on today and so were the Falcons for the third day straight of Falcons Training Camp.
Des dime 🪙 pic.twitter.com/rJ90V1i9IR
— Atlanta Falcons (@AtlantaFalcons) July 28, 2023
The Dirty Birds hit the field at Falcons’ training field at their campus. And several key moments happened as the team got down to business.
- Early Key Injury– Bad news on the injury front for the Falcons early in the season. LG Matt Hennessy suffered an undisclosed injury Friday morning. He walked off the field on his own but was unavailable for the rest of the day for practice. He is scheduled to have an MRI and the Falcons will update his condition tomorrow. ESPN Falcons reporter Michael Rothstein tweeted that the injury was related to “something he was dealing with last season.” Newly installed Mathew Bergeron completed all of the snaps at left guard due to Hennessy’s injury.
- Mixed Results for QBs – Reporters on site said Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinke have yet to connect a long ball in three days of training. On the first 7-on-7 session, Ridder’s deep throw missed Drake London, and another deep throw to Kyle Pitts missed. Head Coach Arthur Smith said in a presser he thought Ridder had a good day despite the missed connections.
- Coach Smith Praises Staff Coach Jerry Gray – He said the secondary coach has been “impressive” and that he has been a problem solver and a great teacher on the field.
- A Falcon May Be Leaving Soon-Coach Smith said that Eddie Goldman may be retiring (again) soon due to “personal matters.” A final decision on Goldman’s fate may be known tomorrow. Falcons beat reporter Tori McElhaney reported the defensive lineman had a one-year deal with the Falcons last year but retired before the start of the season. After he returned this season, he was a no-show at OTA’s or mandatory minicamp.
- Bijan Robinson a Rock Star – Coach Smith was quite pleased with the newly drafted rookie’s performance thus far. He added that he could have scored on several red zone carries if this were a full-contact situation.
- Coach Humor – Atlanta Journal-Constitution Falcons beat writer D. Orlando Ledbetter scheduled a family vacation he planned long before training camp was scheduled this week. So at the presser, Coach Smith gave Ledbetter a $500 “fine” for missing the first two day’s practice. Fellow AJC sports journalist Sarah K. Spencer filled in for him during his absence.
Here is the official fine for @DOrlandoAJC, I am CRYING that Arthur Smith actually made this letter 😂 https://t.co/jczH696v9A pic.twitter.com/KCP4Lc1tAX
— Sarah K. Spencer (@sarah_k_spence) July 28, 2023
Image credit: Google