Good news for Falcons fans, as 2019 first-rounder Kaleb McGary has returned to full practice, per Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com (via Twitter). McGary, who resumed on-field activities last week after undergoing a cardiac ablation procedure at the end of July, is now set to compete for Atlanta’s starting RT job.
Although a heart procedure sounds frightening, McGary has had the same operation twice before, and it is a minimally-invasive surgery. GM Thomas Dimitroff previously stated that he was comfortable with McGary’s health situation, and as of right now, it appears everything is on the right track.
McGary, of course, has a lot of ground to make up, but his competition for the RT job is not particularly inspiring. Ty Sambrailo has had a poor preseason and is presently a limited participant in practice due to a shoulder injury — as McClure notes in a separate tweet — and Matt Gono is a former UDFA who has yet to see regular season action.
Per McClure (Twitter link), head coach Dan Quinn has expressed confidence in all three of those players, but obviously the team would prefer that McGary takes the job and runs with it.
McGary, the No. 31 overall pick in this year’s draft, was the second O-lineman Atlanta added in the first round. The club also selected Boston College guard Chris Lindstrom in an effort to get better while also getting younger on the offensive front.
Hard career to undertake w/ a bad ticker. Good luck to him.