Falcons free safety Ricardo Allen, who suffered a torn Achilles that cost him 13 games last season, ran outdoors for the first time in his rehab, according to his social media post.
“Guys are making good progress,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said recently. “Guys that got injured the earliest, they are the most ahead. That’s Keanu (Neal) and Rico. ... Those guys are making good progress.”
Allen, who signed a three-year $19.5 million contract extension last offseason, was injured in overtime of the 43-37 loss to the Saints on Sept. 23.
It didn’t look promising at the time. Allen, 27, was helped off the field and then taken to medical help on a cart. Allen’s injury was announced by the Falcons as a calf injury, but appeared to be a foot or Achilles injury. It turned out to be the latter.
The Falcons are going to be cautious with Allen and are aiming for training camp for his return.
Quinn was aware of the theory of watching the good Achilles while rehabbing the repaired one.
“Some people do just fine without having the other one done,” Quinn said. “I know (former Falcons defensive end) Kroy (Biermann) has one done earlier in his career and just had the one. (Former Falcons linebacker Sean Weatherspoon) Spoon had two. It’s a small percentage that have both. You can’t go into it, like I hope this other one doesn’t happen. You just can’t. You’ve got to go and do your thing.
He’s doing good. He’s running.”
Damontae Kazee replaced Allen. If Allen can make it back, Kazee is slated to move to nickel back after the team did not retain Brian Poole.
Subscribe to "The Bow Tie Chronicles" podcast with the AJC's D. Orlando Ledbetter on iTunes or on the new AJC sports podcasts page.
About the Author
