Falcons place starting tackle Kaleb McGary on season-ending injured reserve

FLOWERY BRANCH -- Falcons starting right tackle Kaleb McGary is out for the season.

McGary, who sustained a leg injury last week in practice, was placed on season-ending injured reserve Tuesday.

The Falcons will have to pivot to other plans on the right side of the line, which is a normally a critical area to protect left-handed quarterback Michael Penix Jr. However, coach Raheem Morris and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson has minimized that old-school notion because they play out of the shot-gun and pistol formations.

Morris said after the 31-13 loss to the Cowboys on Friday that McGary would miss significant time and likely was headed for some time on injured reserve.

Elijah Wilkinson, 30, moved to right tackle after McGary went down in practice. Wilkinson didn’t play against the Cowboys out of an abundance of caution.

Wilkinson, who is 6-foot-6 and 310 pounds, has played in 79 NFL games and made 45 starts. He started nine games at left guard for the Falcons in 2022. He also has played with the Broncos, Bears and Cardinals after playing in college at Massachusetts.

Rookie Jack Nelson, who was drafted in the seventh round out of Wisconsin, started all three exhibition games.

Nelson played all 38 of the offensive snaps against the Lions on Aug. 8 and 47 of 67 (70%) of the offensive snaps against the Titans on Aug. 15.

The Falcons cut tackles Jordan Williams and Brandon Parker on Tuesday.

The also made a trade for tackle Michael Jerrell with the Seahawks.

McGary recently signed a two-year contract extension worth $30 million.

McGary, 30, was set to become a free agent after the completion of the 2025 season. He’s now under contract through the 2027 season.

A first-round draft pick of the Falcons in 2019, McGary shared that his biggest focal points during the offseason were increasing his strength, size and speed. He aimed to make his reactions more efficient to help him with his pass protection.

The Falcons did not view McGary as the blindside protector in the traditional sense because they run a lot of shotgun and pistol formations.

McGary has overcome extensive health issues to carve out a respectable seven-year career.

Before being drafted he had to overcome a heart arrhythmia, which is an abnormal heartbeat that can cause fatigue, shortness of breath, and an increased risk of stroke.

Once that was under control, he had to battle to get himself in top-notch NFL shape. He has started in 92 of 93 games in the NFL, including 16 games last season.

“We got to go find a way to win football games, whoever is out there playing for us,” Morris said. “So, we look forward to that challenge.”

Jerrell, 26, is a native of Indianapolis.

After playing at the NCAA Division II level, he was considered a developmental prospect entering the 2024 draft. He was projected to be a priority free agent before he was drafted by the Seahawks.

He was critiqued to need improvement in run and pass blocking, but as a former basketball player, he has the athletic skills to make the adjustments.

“The biggest thing as a key when you are playing big-edge defenders is that he has the ability to play long,” Findlay coach Kory Allen said on the “Locked on Seahawks” podcast after Jerrell was drafted. “He has a long reach, and he’s very, very strong through his core. ... He has the ability to play long. Which I think is great. He has the ability to anchor and play thick through his lower half.”