The Atlanta Falcons have played fast and loose with their tackle situation for a long time now. Jake Matthews has been so durable, Kaleb McGary good enough when he’s healthy, and Storm Norton a fine enough fill-in that the team has not made any serious moves to shore up their tackle depth since they signed Norton away from the Saints practice squad in 2023. Prior to that and after that, it’s been a series of one-year salves and bandages ranging from Mike Jerrell to Elijah Wilkinson to Jason Spriggs
to Rick Leonard, with the occasional late speculative pick or undrafted free agent like Jack Nelson thrown in.
I mention that depth issue because it may become relevant in 2026 again. Storm Norton is returning from a major injury, Mike Jerrell didn’t show much in very limited action, Nelson is still a second-year pro with uncertain upside, and McGary is returning from a significant injury of his own. Today, Kevin Stefanski told reporters that McGary could be back for training camp.
I want you to notice the framing here, because it feels important. This is not “we’ll have him back by training camp” and not “we’ll take it one day at a time,” so I would say Stefanski is hopeful he will indeed have McGary back some 11 months after he was injured in August 2025. Hope is great, but the lack of certainty here points to a fundamental problem: The Falcons don’t know McGary will be back in time for training camp, which by extension means they don’t know he’ll be fully healthy and ramped up for the start of the regular season. I would expect that he will be, sure, but there’s months to go and clarity won’t come until we’re closer to that return.
The Falcons will, of course, bank on having McGary. He’s quietly built a good career in Atlanta after a bumpy start, and the Falcons won’t save a dollar by moving on from the veteran this year thanks to the two-year extension he signed before the 2025 season. For a team that will want to lean on Bijan Robinson heavily, having a tackle who can move people in the run game is important; Bijan had a tremendous season with Wilkinson paving the way on the right side and should be that much better with McGary back and (hopefully) a better coaching staff. Atlanta will take it as slowly as they need to in order to have McGary back when the season kicks off, but the closer to kickoff that return happens, the less likely it is that McGary will be his usual self when he first hits the field. Patience is going to be key, one way or another.
But the other piece here is that McGary has a history of missing some time and the Falcons, who were stuck playing a third string tackle all of last season, need to prepare for that possibility once more. Atlanta has the depth on paper to weather some uncertainty here, but two of their options are unproven and the other is returning from an injury that also cost him the 2025 season. Ideally, the Falcons will have their starting right tackle and capable swing tackle back for 2026, setting them up for a more successful season on offense. A team that hasn’t touched the tackle position under the new regime will still probably want more insurance on hand, just in case.
