Falcons cornerback Isaiah Oliver, who is coming back from knee surgery, played nickel back against the Jaguars on Saturday afternoon.
Oliver, 25, was held out of the first two exhibition games. He looked fine in the second quarter covering Jacksonville wide receiver Laviska Shenault out of the slot on two third downs. The ball didn’t come his way on both of those plays.
“I definitely want to test it before (the season starts),” Oliver said recently. “That’s going to come from talking to Coach (Arthur Smith), with the athletic trainers, and just getting a plan together. For me, I definitely want to get out there in (an exhibition game) for sure.”
Oliver, who was drafted in the second round of the 2018 NFL draft, played nickel back with the reserves. The Falcons did not play their starters in the game.
Oliver, who was moved to nickel back in the 2020 season, was injured against Washington on Oct. 3 last season. Running back J.D. McKissic blocked Oliver when he was rushing the quarterback, and his knee was injured on the play.
Oliver missed the rest of the season after the injury.
In addition to Oliver’s return, linebacker Deion Jones played at inside linebacker. Jones, who had offseason shoulder surgery, came off the physically-unable-to-perform list Wednesday.
The Bow Tie Chronicles
About the Author
