The Atlanta Falcons' starting offensive line was set in stone going into the 2025 NFL season -- until it wasn't. Starting right tackle Kaleb McGary suffered a season-ending injury, followed by his backup, Storm Norton, suffering what ended up being his own season-ending injury. Elijah Wilkinson took the starting gig, but he is now gone (long, long gone), and we are left with a big problem.
The 31-year-old's health is uncertain, and a backup plan must be made. The key is Kevin Stefanski saying McGary "could" be ready for training camp, so while his abundance of hope is whimsical, it doesn't guarantee the Falcons' offensive line will be at full strength at the beginning of the summer.
That's far from a certainty, and not having a backup plan is sentencing both of your injury-prone QBs to death. And since Ian Cunningham revealed that this team isn't done in free agency, adding depth at tackle could be one of their second-wave moves done with the new money they made room for.
Watch out for Ian Cunningham to make a signing along the Falcons offensive line
When fully healthy, we know the starting offensive line from left to right will be Jake Matthews, Matt Bergeron, Ryan Neuzil, Chris Lindstrom, and McGary. But if the final guy isn't healthy--who is also supposed to be protecting the blind side of Atlanta's starting quarterback--then it is anyone's guess.
Fortunately, Wilkinson is gone because he clearly wasn't interested in doing anything it took to help this team win. He left saltier than the ocean.
There are many offensive tackles left on the market, like the ones that are listed in the embedded post above. However, those are the cheaper options that can do a serviceable job if it isn't more than a couple of games.
Anything longer than that and we have a problem. You also have to account for the possibility that he re-aggravates his injury or sustains another injury. The Falcons don't have depth at the position when you consider Norton's own injury problems when tackles Jack Nelson and Michael Jerrell are next up.
Taking a shot on a more expensive option, like Stefanski's former OT in Cleveland, Jack Conklin, could be an option. Is it overkill? For a normal team, yes; for this team, no. You have to remember that Wilkinson starting last season helped lead to Michael Penix Jr.'s season-ending partially torn ACL.
And if you have followed the Miami Dolphins at any point during the past few years, you know that Tua Tagovailoa hasn't exactly been an ironman. The last thing this team needs is to lose two quarterbacks because they were too confident in McGary's health.
The Falcons don't have an exorbitant amount of cash at the moment, but figuring out a way to keep your quarterbacks healthy should be the No. 1 goal. But they have enough money to make something work if they don't draft a tackle in a few weeks.
In any case, McGary returning and staying healthy is the best-case scenario, but we have a new general manager who has preached roster depth, which isn't showing at the tackle spot.