It appears Falcons safety Erik Harris suffered a torn left pectoral muscle that will require surgery and lead to him missing the rest of the season.
Falcons coach Arthur Smith declined to update Harris’ injury status on Monday a day after the injury. The NFL Network reported that Harris suffered a torn pectoral muscle and will miss the rest of the season. The same conclusion was made by Dr. David Chao in a video review on Sunday.
Harris’ injury was announced as a “chest” injury with his return to the game questionable in the win over the Panthers Sunday. He never returned after six plays.
Harris (chest), outside linebacker Dante Fowler (calf) and backup linebacker Emmanuel Ellerbee (knee) were all injured against the Panthers. Fowler played 42 of 64 plays (50%) and Ellerbee played 12 plays on special teams.
“Injuries, we are still waiting for the medical experts,” Smith said on Monday. “On most Mondays in the NFL, MRIs, the doctors and making sure that we get it right so we don’t ... we know exactly what we are dealing with.”
The Falcons were already thin at safety with Richie Grant’s ankle injury. Shawn Williams was promoted from the practice squad to the active roster and played 18 plays on special teams against the Panthers.
Harris suffered the injury on Carolina’s first possession of the game and walked off the field with a member of the training staff.
Chao was a head team doctor in the NFL for more than 17 seasons. He’s a surgeon who provides sports medical analyst and real-time injury analysis.
Harris has 64 tackles, three tackles for losses, two quarterback eights and eight pass breakups. He was replaced by Jaylinn Hawkins.
Smith would not say if Harris or Fowler’s injuries are long-term.
“I’m going to wait until I get the real information,” Smith said. “I’ll deal with what the facts are when I’m given them. I’m sure that we ... the medical experts look at it and we confirm it. We’ll have a plan, but we’re not there yet. I’ll wait until I get the actual facts.”
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