Kemal Ishmael’s transition back to his old strong safety spot is moving right along.
He reported to camp as a linebacker, but after J.J. Wilcox suffered a season-ending knee injury during the first practice, Ishmael was moved back to strong safety, where he played from 2013 to 2016.
“Playing linebacker you really know the whole defense,” Ishmael told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Sunday. “You know what’s going down in the box. You know the rotation. It’s an easy (move), but I have to get back used to it. Just working on technique. It’s not going to happen overnight, but I feel pretty good.”
Ishmael, 28, was selected in the seventh round of the 2013 draft out of Central Florida. He has played in 81 games and made 20 starts.
He started 10 games at strong safety in 2015. He was moved to linebacker during the 2016 season and was ready to continue as a linebacker.
“I came into camp and my weight was down,” Ishmael said. “I looked good. I was moving well.”
The Wilcox injury happened fast.
“People get hurt,” Ishmael said. “Things change. It wasn’t really a big transition. I was playing linebacker waiting to go to safety really. I was always the emergency guy, the backup safety. I’m just a team guy. I understand. I’ve been in the league long enough.”
Ishmael, who’s 6 feet and 206 pounds, has shined on special teams.
Last season, he played in 16 games and recorded 10 tackles and a pass breakup over 64 defensive snaps. He played 329 special-teams snaps and had 11 tackles, the second most on the team behind Justin Bethel.
In 2017, he played 114 defensive snaps and 336 special-teams plays.
“It’s just being unselfish” Ishmael said of his special teams play. “It’s never easy. You have to make sacrifices. You must do a lot more than what you expect yourself to do. You have to push yourself. “
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