The Falcons have big plans for Vic Beasley in his second season, but things have gotten off to a bumpy start.
Over the offseason, the Falcons moved Beasley to the strongside linebacker position in the base defense, but through two exhibition games he has played only two snaps.
He was a late scratch from the Cleveland game with a shoulder injury that he had been able to practice with last week.
“It’s a little bump in the road, but at the same time he’s done a great job in practice as far as picking it up,” Falcons linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich said on Sunday.
The Falcons don’t appear to be frustrated by the timing of Beasley’s injury.
“We understand that (injuries) will come up,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “We’ve got a lot of work at it in practice. We anticipate getting more of that in the game.”
Beasley is a key component in the Falcons’ attempts to improve their pass rush. The team had just 19 sacks last season, which was the fewest in the league. They are hoping he will be recovered in time to play against Miami at 8 p.m. on Thursday in Orlando.
“With the group of him and (Dwight) Freeney outside and inside some of (Derrick) Shelby and (Adrian) Clayborn, that look as well as some of the other looks (are what) we are trying to establish inside” Quinn said.
Beasley, who was taken with the eighth overall pick in the 2015 draft, played defensive end last season as a rookie. He finished with four sacks in a solid first season.
He is considered the future of the team’s pass rush. The move to strongside was designed to get him some more favorable matchups while the Falcons are in their base defense.
When they play the nickel alignment, Beasley is slated to rush from the left defensive end position. While they have not seen Beasley in action much at his new position, the Falcons believe he’s performed well enough in practice.
“He has a really strong learning curve,” Ulbrich said. “Our (strongside) backer, fortunately, the job doesn’t require a whole lot of thinking. There are not a ton of responsibilities. It’s not easy, but it’s fairly simple.”
Beasley was limited in practice on Sunday. He didn’t take part in much contact and didn’t play in the 11-on-11 sessions.
The shoulder injury is not related to the torn labrum that Beasley played with in his right shoulder last season. He is hoping to play against Miami.
“I just have to tough it out,” Beasley said. “I just have to rehab and get it back to what it used to be.”
The scratch before the Cleveland game came as a surprise.
“It was kind of a day-to-day decision,” Beasley said. “I just kind of felt like on that day, that it was probably best just to rehab it.”
Beasley said the injury occurred in practice.
“I just kind of took a shot running an inside stunt,” Beasley said. “It happens. It’s football. I’ve been working on it and trying to get it back stable as much as I can.”
Beasley believes he’s ready for extended action against the Dolphins. Quinn plans to play most starters into the third quarter.
“However long coach ask me to play, I’m looking forward to it,” Beasley said. “I’m going to go out there and try to perform to my best ability.”
The plan is to ease Beasley along and monitor him as the Miami game approaches.
“We’ll do more tomorrow as we get into our big third down and nickel day, which is really the area of emphasis for him,” Quinn said.
