FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Kevin Stefanski’s first season in Atlanta got a little harder on Tuesday as edge rusher/linebacker Jalon Walker, the 15th pick in the 2025 draft, suffered a torn ACL in practice, a team source told The Athletic. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the injury.
The Falcons were conducting a two-minute drill late in their seventh practice of training camp when Walker fell while rounding the corner on a pass rush. His teammates almost immediately went to one knee on the field. As Walker was taken to the locker room on a cart, Stefanski brought the team together briefly and ended practice.
“My thoughts and my prayers go out to Jalon,” Falcons defensive tackle Maason Smith said after practice. “I have had to endure those types of injuries before, and you don’t wish that on anybody. Just prayers up and sending him positivity.”
Smith, who joined the team in the offseason after being traded from Jacksonville, was at Walker’s house Sunday on the team’s day off, he said.
“He’s a great dude,” Smith said. “He was one of the guys that made the transition easier. I haven’t known him for a long time, but I’ve always known of him. He’s a great player, even better person.”
Walker had 5.5 sacks, nine quarterback hurries and five tackles for loss as a rookie and was expected to lead the Falcons pass rush before the injury.
“Definitely not what you want to see but … we understand that injuries come with the game,” quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said. “At the end of the day, I’m no doctor. I’m no medical guy. From there, I would say all we can do is just pray for J and hope that he’s going to be OK.”
“Jalon’s a guy we got to know in Cleveland in that draft process, and every team that spent time with him came away thinking, ‘This is a kid who loves football,’” Stefanski said in the spring. “That’s what I have seen from him. It’s fun being around a young man who is wired like that.”
The Falcons selected Walker and fellow pass rusher James Pearce Jr. in the first round last year, and they helped the defense post a franchise-record 57 sacks, but Pearce’s status for the season is also in jeopardy. He is facing a suspension from the NFL after a February arrest on three felony charges following an incident with his former girlfriend, WNBA player Rickea Jackson.
Atlanta will now have to count on free-agent additions Samson Ebukam, Azeez Ojulari, Cameron Thomas and Keshawn Banks and incumbent Bralen Trice (who has missed the last two seasons due to ACL tears) for its pass rush unless it can find answers on the free-agent market. Haason Reddick, Joey Bosa, Leonard Floyd and Yetur Gross-Matos are among the players still available.
