Keanu Neal, the Atlanta Falcons 17th overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft is out 3-5 weeks after tweaking his knee in last night’s preseason game against the Miami Dolphins.
Nobody likes injuries in preseason games. Especially injuries to highly touted rookies like the Falcons Keanu Neal who is just starting to learn the flow of an NFL game. The first-year strong-safety suffered the injury attempting to tackle Arian Foster in the second quarter. Neal was able to walk off the field with minimal help but that didn’t stop Falcons fans from holding their breath.
After the game, Falcons head coach, Dan Quinn told reporters that the injury was “not a significant knee injury at this point.” It seems that we have more information now on the extent of the injury as an MRI Friday morning determined that the rookie will need arthroscopic surgery on the knee:
Here is the official word on #Falcons S Keanu Neal. Team says 3-4 weeks for his timeline. pic.twitter.com/pa4MvabWiY
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 26, 2016
Arthroscopic knee surgery means that doctors aren’t necessarily 100% sure of what is wrong with the knee, only that some things need to be cleaned up. According to NFL.com’s, Ian Rappoport, they will be checking out his meniscus and other cartilage in his knee:
Docs will determine the damage during #Falcons S Keanu Neal's scope. I'm told the ligaments are fine. Likely meniscus trim/cartilage cleanup
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 26, 2016
Even before the MRI, Neal was reportedly telling teammates that he would be a full-go for the Falcons first regular season game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. An injury to a rookie is one that you never want to see, especially since the Falcons have been so high on Neal this summer, praising his work-ethic and coach-ability.
Pro Football Focus has ranked Atlanta’s secondary as 26th best in the NFL meaning that the Falcons can ill-afford to have Neal out for much longer than the 3-5 week timetable. Last nights game between the Dolphins and Falcons taught us that the preseason is a scary place for those who have a cemented roster-spot on an NFL team. All-Pro wide receiver Julio Jones also suffered an injury but seems to be okay.
Now comes the point in preseason where teams may start to question whether their experienced players really need the extra reps.