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Marc RaimondiAug 29, 2025, 08:00 PM<\/p>\n
Close<\/a>Marc Raimondi’s first year covering the Falcons was 2024, but it wasn’t his first year at ESPN. He joined the company in 2019 and was a top combat sports reporter. He also covered professional wrestling and wrote the book “Say Hello to the Bad Guys: How Pro Wrestling’s New World Order Changed America,” which was published by Simon & Schuster in 2025. Raimondi also worked for the New York Post and Newsday, beginning in 2009, covering high school and college sports, plus the NFL, NFL, MLB and NHL.<\/p>\n FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Three players will be competing for the Atlanta Falcons<\/a>‘ extremely important starting right tackle role, according to head coach Raheem Morris — and more could be in the mix.<\/p>\n The fact starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr<\/a>. is left-handed means the right tackle will be protecting his blindside.<\/p>\n The Falcons placed Kaleb McGary<\/a>, their starter at the position since 2019, on injured reserve Tuesday with no designation to return. He will be out for the year<\/a> with a leg injury sustained in practice Aug. 20. McGary’s backup, swing tackle Storm Norton<\/a>, will also start the season on IR, as he had ankle surgery this summer on his ankle and will be out for six to eight weeks.<\/p>\n Morris said Thursday that three players who have been with the team will get a shot at filling the role left by McGary, a former first-round pick and potent run blocker. Elijah Wilkinson<\/a> replaced McGary in practice after the injury, while Brandon Parker<\/a>, another veteran, will join rookie Jack Nelson<\/a> as part of the competition.<\/p>\n The Falcons also added three tackles to their roster over the last few days. They sent a conditional 2027 seventh-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks<\/a> for Michael Jerrell<\/a> and signed Carter Warren<\/a> and Ryan Hayes<\/a>, formerly of the New York Jets<\/a> and Miami Dolphins<\/a>, respectively.<\/p>\n Best of NFL Nation \u2022 Hurricane Katrina’s impact on Saints coaches<\/a> Morris said all three could eventually vie for that starting role, once they begin to learn offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford’s zone-blocking system.<\/p>\n “It’s really just finding out, hey, what’s going to be the best five that gives us the best opportunity to go out and lets us be the best offense that we can be this year,” Ledford said.<\/p>\n Jerrell started three games as a rookie last year in Seattle, including one against the Falcons when he played well. Warren started six games with the Jets over the last two seasons.<\/p>\n Wilkinson has the most experience. He started 19 games at right tackle with the Denver Broncos<\/a> in the 2019 and 2020 seasons, and was actually the Falcons’ starter at left guard for nine games in 2022. Wilkinson appears to be the front-runner to start in Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a>, and Ledford said he’d be “comfortable” with that.<\/p>\n “[Wilkinson has] got great length, he’s athletic and we’ve used him a lot in training camp at tackle, so I like what I see there with Elijah there as an option for us,” Ledford said.<\/p>\n Jerrell, Ledford said, was a guy that “definitely grabbed our attention” coming out of college. Ledford said specifically that Jerrell could be “an option” to start in Week 1 and the competition right now could include three to four players.<\/p>\n Editor’s Picks<\/p>\n 2 Related<\/p>\n “[Jerrell is] a pro, he’s been in the league, he kind of understands the urgency behind it and it’s now trying to catch him up as fast as you possibly can there — the verbiage, the lingo, all that’s going to be a little bit different and it’s just trying to get him as comfortable with our system as fast as we can,” Ledford said.<\/p>\n But the Falcons are leaving no stone unturned. Morris said the team even considered moving standout left guard Matthew Bergeron<\/a> to right tackle, which he played in college at Syracuse, and added that possibility is still on the table.<\/p>\n “You always have to have that on the table,” Morris said. “Bergeron is one of those guys that if something were to happen in a game when you don’t have all the guys up and one or two injuries happen, that’s always got to be something that’s in consideration. It’s always going to be something that’s thought about and we know he can do it.”<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/r1538148_608x342_16-9.jpg\")
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