FLOWERY BRANCH – While offensive lineman Matt Hennessy remains out with a chronic left knee injury, backup center Ryan Neuzil is moving past him on the depth chart.
Hennessy, who went down on Aug. 1, was working with the first-team offense at left guard. He was the team’s starting center in 2021, but loss that spot to Drew Dalman.
“(Offensive line coach) Dwayne Ledford has done a hell of a job,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said on Monday. “We feel so good about, there is so much good competition going on with our offense line right now, that it’s unfortunate with Henny. It is. But you guys saw Neuzil, a guy who’s been in our program is developing.”
Neuzil started and played 40 offensive snaps (74%) in the 19-3 win over the Dolphins.
“He’s got to watch it now because he’s going to become some celebrity because he was mic’ed up, Smith said. “We have to make sure that we keep him humble.”
Smith credits Ledford with Neuzil’s development.
“There are so many other guys like Kyle Hinton, (Jalen) Mayfield and Shaff (Justin Shaffer) and Jovaugh (Gwyn). There’s a lot of good stuff going on.”
Hennessy, who was selected in the third round (78th overall) in the 2020 draft by former general manager Thomas Dimitroff and head coach Dan Quinn, could be the odd man out when the Falcons cut down to the 53-man roster.
“It’s unfortunate,” Smith said. “So, there are so many decisions that have to be made and it will play itself out. It’s unfortunate with Henny and with Drew having a good camp, you hope to get him back. You like to have everybody, but we feel really good about where our depth is at.”
Ogundeji injured: Falcons outside linebacker Ade Ogundeji suffered and undisclosed injury at practice on Monday.
“Like a lot of guys, I hate to keep saying, wait until I get all of the results,” Smith said. “We’ve seen Clark get carted off and he was OK. We’ve seen other guys that can run off and you just don’t know. We’ll just have to see.”
Injury report: Several players, including Dalman, remained out of practice on Monday.
Cornerback Cornell Armstrong (soft tissue), Mike Hughes (soft tissue), Jeff Okudah (ankle), wide receiver Frank Darby (soft tissue) and running back Cordarrelle Patterson (soft tissue) did not practice on Monday.
Sprains, strains, and contusions, as well as tendinitis and bursitis, are common soft-tissue injuries, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
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