During the Atlanta Falcons' "Saturday Night Lights" practice in Sugar Hill, more went wrong than practice just ending prematurely due to lightning. Star linebacker Divine Deablo stopped scrimmaging because he suffered an apparent ankle injury that had fans worried about his status.
While addressing the media prior to Monday's practice. Kevin Stefanski revaled the extent of Deablo's injury, and thankfully, it isn't anything major. Between Jalon Walker and Jessie Bates III, this defense can't handle any more loss, so Stefanski was able to (mostly) offer good news on the Deablo front.
"He's not gonna practice today, but feel like he will be out there sooner than later, but (we're) still working through it," Stefanski said.
Stefanski revealed that Deablo was rolled up on, but the team did imaging and testing, and it sounds like he avoided an extended absence. However, he will not be at today's practice which is likely precautionary, since he also revealed that he feels like he will be back out there "sooner than later".
The Atlanta Falcons avoided another major loss with Divine Deablo
The Falcons are not in a position to endure an absence to another one oftheir most important defenders. They already lost Walker for the season with a torn ACL, and we saw just how much the defense suffered during the four games Divine Deablo spent on IR last season.
And considering Bates is still banged up too, the Dirty Birds needed some good news on the injury front--especially on defense. If the 27-year-old were to miss any real time, Christian Harris and rookie linebackers Kendal Daniels and Harold Perkins Jr. would likely be the players set to step in for him.
After Kaden Elliss left in free agency, Falcons DC Jeff Ulbrich named Deablo the defense's new green dot. Losing him before he ever got to play a game in his new role would be a legit nightmare, especially since linebacker depth isn't a luxury Atlanta has been blessed with behind the veteran--even if Daniels is basically a Deablo clone.
Both rookies have seen first-team reps next to Deablo, and while they've been promising, being depleted to the point they both would start would not be ideal. Thankfully, the Falcons avoided this scenario, and the Virginia Tech product won't be in danger of missing Week 1 over a rolled ankle.
Divine Deablo likely has a short absence ahead of him to deal with this ankle issue, but thankfully, Kevin Stefanski was able to squash any real concerns about the extent of the injury and how long the Atlanta Falcons will be without him.
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