Bijan Robinson Gets $75 Million While the Falcons Lose Jalon Walker and Rediscover Live Tackling
Jake Matthews noted that Walker was a leader on defense, even last season as a rookie.
The are having one of those training camp days that gives you whiplash. One minute you are handing your star running back a mountain of cash, and the next you are watching a foundational piece of your defense get carted off.
officially inked a three-year extension worth up to $75 million. That is an absurd number for a modern running back, but anyone who has watched the offense knows he is the entire engine. He is currently ramping up and skipping team drills, which is exactly what you do with a guy who just became more expensive than a private island.
But the good vibes died immediately on the other side of the ball. Edge rusher Jalon Walker is officially out for the season with a torn ACL. Veteran tackle Jake Matthews called the second-year player a defensive leader, and losing him this early is a brutal blow to a pass rush that desperately needed his juice.
To make matters even more chaotic, the Falcons decided to do live tackling in practice for the first time in what reporters are calling a decade. Hitting your own teammates to the ground in August is certainly a choice, especially when the injury bug is already biting your defensive front.
Meanwhile, the quarterback room is shuffling behind the scenes. Tua Tagovailoa looked sharp, going 5-of-7 in 11-on-11 sessions and hitting guys like and . Behind him, Cooper Rush seems to have snatched the backup job from Jack Strand. Rush went 7-of-9 passing, proving that the eternal backup is inevitable.
With Walker gone, is throwing everything at the wall on the edge. is getting reps there, along with linebackers Harold Perkins and . If you are looking at the in the defensive futures market, this is the exact kind of duct-tape rotation that should make you nervous.
now has to figure out how to manufacture pressure without their young leader. The offense is locked in and paid up, but if the defense cannot get to the quarterback, Tua and Bijan are going to have to score 35 points a game just to keep this team afloat.