FLOWERY BRANCH – Falcons cornerback Isaiah Oliver, who missed most of last season after having right knee surgery, is working his back into the defensive backfield.
“It’s good to be back out there playing football,” Oliver said Friday. “That’s the biggest thing, just getting comfortable doing that.”
Oliver sustained the injury in the 34-30 loss to the Washington Commanders on Oct. 3 and missed the final 13 games of the season. He was blitzing on a play and was blocked by Washington running back J.D. McKissic.
The Falcons eased Oliver into the offseason workouts, and he opened training camp with a knee brace. The team is closely monitoring his return.
“The goal is to pick up where I left off or be even better than I was,” said Oliver, who was the team’s top nickel back. “That’s kind of what I’m striving for. Obviously, I missed those games, being able to come back this year in the same spot would be great.”
So far, the knee is holding up well, he said.
“I’m feeling really good,” Oliver said. “It’s going really well. I’m happy to be back out there playing football.”
Oliver plans to play in the exhibition games. The Falcons open the exhibition season at Detroit on Aug. 12.
“Just kind of keep going,” Oliver said. “Doing as much as I can in training camp, so I can get out there and play some games in the (exhibition) season and then get ready for Week 1.”
Oliver, who played at Colorado, was drafted in the second round of the 2018 draft. He struggled outside at cornerback before he was moved to nickel in the 2020 season. He started to thrive and opened last season as a starter.
He’s still getting used to the brace.
“That’s been the most difficult part, playing football with it because it’s big and bulky,” Oliver said. “For safety purposes, it’s good. I can practice with it, and as far as I know, I won’t have to play with it and that’s fine with me.”
The Falcons don’t want to rush Oliver’s return.
“We’re bringing him along; there’s a lot of conversations,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “As he’s rehabbing, we do a lot of stuff with our performance staff and where he is along, where’s he at medically, and then we really got to assess that day to day. The ultimate goal is to get him to 100% so that he can help us win.”
Oliver has played in 50 games and has made 33 starts. He has 166 tackles, 27 pass breakups and an interception.
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