Few teams have more trouble keeping healthy defensive backs on the field than the Atlanta Falcons. Monday, safety J.J. Wilcox, who just signed a one-year deal back in April, tore his ACL in practice and will be out for the season.
Wilcox spent last season with the New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts. He played in seven games with no starts and seven tackles. Wilcox was a former starter with the Dallas Cowboys, where he began his career as a third round pick out of Georgia Southern in the 2013 NFL Draft.
Sources: #Falcons S JJ Wilcox, who would have been the team’s third safety, has torn his ACL and is out for the season. He suffered the injury today in practice.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 22, 2019
If the Falcons only lose Wilcox, they should feel lucky. Last season Deion Jones, Ricardo Allen and Keanu Neal all went down with injuries.
Former Maryland head coach D.J. Durkin a guest coach with Atlanta
D.J. Durkin was fired as the University of Maryland’s head coach last season after the death of Jordan McNair from heat stroke he suffered at practice. Such an event should rightly cost a coach his job, so it could raise a few eyebrows to see Durkin show up at Falcons camp as a “guest coach.” I guess the fraternal order of football coaches is a strong one.
Among the guest coaches who will assist the Falcons in training camp is former Maryland head coach DJ Durkin.
— Jason Butt (@JasonHButt) July 22, 2019
“I hope people would understand, and people know me well enough, that nothing is more important than team,” Falcons head coach Dan Quinn told ESPN’s Vaughn McClure. “The fact that I know this coach (Durkin) firsthand, I know what his character is, and then the due diligence that goes with that, I would certainly hope that anyone covering the team or the fan base knows that I always have the team’s best interest in mind and would never put anybody in a space that would be otherwise.”
Durkin and Quinn were both on the University of Florida coaching staff from 2011-2012. Durkin isn’t the only guest coach helping out in Atlanta. They’ve also brought in Bill Walsh Coaching Fellows Tracy Zimmer, Lance Schulters and Jamel Mutunga.
