FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons running back Caleb Huntley suffered a ruptured Achilles and will miss the remainder of the season, coach Arthur Smith said Monday.
“He’ll be out,” Smith said.
Huntley suffered the injury on a run on the second play of the game against the host Saints. He somehow stayed in the game.
“It was one of the most unusual things I’ve seen,” Smith said. “He injured his Achilles on the second play. He didn’t go down. He stayed in there. I don’t know how in the (heck) he did it, to be honest. He went in there, made a block in pass protection and then he jogged off the field.”
Smith talked to Huntley on Monday and told him he’d never seen a player play on an Achilles injury.
“He said, ‘I knew you wanted to go no-huddle early, and I didn’t want to come out,’” Smith said. “I was like, ‘You were injured; you could have gone down.’ I don’t know how the (heck) he did it. I feel awful for him. He’s a great person. A guy that we’ve had in our program. I know he’ll attack the rehab.”
Huntley, an undrafted rookie from Ball State who played at Locust Grove High, spent most of last season on the practice squad. He made the roster this season.
Huntley had earned a spot in the rotation and rushed 76 times for 366 yards and a touchdown this season.
He’s set to have surgery on his Achilles.
“He made a lot of progress, coming in here and learning what we expect from guys in the program,” Smith said. “Nothing for Caleb in his life has come easy. He’s a guy that all he knows how to do is work. He works extremely hard. Persistence, all those things that you look for, the qualities that we value, Caleb has got them.
“It’s a credit to him and how he stayed with it. He improved a lot as a player. I’m sure he’ll attack his rehab the same way.”
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Atlanta Falcons 2022 schedule
Sept. 11: Saints 27, Falcons 26
Sept. 18: Rams 31, Falcons 27
Sept. 25 Falcons 27, Seahawks 23
Oct. 2 Falcons 23, Browns 20
Oct. 9 Buccaneers 21, Falcons 15
Oct. 16 Falcons 28, 49ers 14
Oct. 23 Bengals 35, Falcons 17
Oct. 30 Falcons 37, Panthers 34 OT
Nov. 6 Chargers 20, Falcons 17
Nov. 10 Panthers 25, Falcons 15
Nov. 20 Falcons 27, Bears 24
Nov. 27 Commanders 19, Falcons 13
Dec. 4 Steelers 19, Falcons 16
BYE WEEK
Dec. 18 Saints 21, Falcons 18
Dec. 24 at Baltimore, 1 p.m.
Jan. 1 vs. Arizona, 1 p.m.
Jan. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, TBD
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