Atlanta Falcons’ Jake Matthews happy to replace Sam Baker
By Bryan Rose
The Atlanta Falcons received devastating news on Saturday night after left tackle Sam Baker was lost for the season due to a patella-related injury. Not exactly stocked full of depth at the position, some began to suggest that Jake Matthews could replace Baker on the line.
More from Atlanta Falcons
- Kyle Pitts: It’s a new aura when it comes to the Atlanta Falcons defense
- Kyle Pitts sees Desmond Ridder, A.J. Terrell as tremendous leaders for the Falcons
- NFL Power Rankings: Who is the best quarterback in each division?
- Bijan Robinson hypes up Falcons’ defense with chip on their shoulder
- Bijan Robinson sees championships in Texas’ immediate future
Can Matthews do it? More importantly, would he want to?
The answer to that is yes as the No. 6 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft says he’s open to the challenge and would move to left tackle if the Atlanta Falcons wanted him to do so.
“I’ll do it,” Matthews told ESPN.com of his willingness to move to left tackle. “That’s what they drafted me for: to come here and play wherever. And something I take a lot of pride in is my versatility and being able to play on either side. If they ask me to move over, I’ll be happy to do it.”
So many times you see athletes refuse to change positions or do so begrudgingly, so it’s nice to see Jake Matthews be more than eager to make such a move. Of course, at this time we don’t know what the Atlanta Falcons are thinking. Do they really want to begin Jake Matthews’ NFL career at a different position? Or would they be better served attempting to look in the thin free agent market or possibly even look into a trade?
Thankfully the Atlanta Falcons do have some time as opposed to an in-season injury though, they’re going to need to make some type of move relatively quick regardless.