One week after injuring his neck against the Chicago Bears and leaving the field on a medical cart, the Falcons rookie linebacker showed what he’s made of. Not only did he overcome the odds to suit up and play in the game, but he also took on the responsibility of communicating the defensive play calls and secured two crucial turnovers late in the fourth quarter.
A fourth-round pick and former safety who transitioned to linebacker for his final college season, Daniels has quickly endeared himself to coaches and teammates alike. There was a lot of praise tossed the rookie’s way after the game, much of which is included in this story from Sunday, but not everything made the cut. Here are the leftover quotes from and about Daniels.
LB Kendal Daniels on his mentality heading into the game: “I wasn’t scared. I definitely thought, because I haven’t been in full pads all week, ‘What if I’m not okay?’ But once I got my first tackle pregame and just thudding up, I was good.
“I guess you just don’t look back like, ‘What if I’m not ready?’ You just always be like, ‘I’m good. Once I get my first hit, I’ll be good.’ That’s probably the biggest thing, just the mentality.”
WR Drake London on Daniels’ speaking after receiving a game ball: “It means the world to hear that message from him. The middle linebacker position, it’s pretty grueling to play that position. He just got stretched off, and now he’s playing. So it’s really cool to see, especially from a young guy like that who has a bright future ahead of him.”
DT Maason Smith on Daniels’ preparation: “I, personally, already knew that he was going to do something like that because when you give somebody like that an opportunity like he had today, he’s going to always bring it. His preparation is what will keep feeding him.
“A lot of young guys, it takes them a little while to get into that rhythm of watching film and breaking everything down, but he does a hell of a job just being able to process everything. I think he’s going to continue to grow from here.”
DE Samson Ebukam on Daniels stepping up: “We needed that with [Divine] Deablo down, so he stepped up and filled that void. Filled it pretty great. It’s good to see him out there doing what he’s doing, especially after everything that happened. The sky is the limit for him.”
CB A.J. Terrell on Daniels wearing the green dot: “I don’t think he would be in that position if he didn’t have the trust behind him with the coaches and the players. It’s no shocker that he made a play today that impacted the game that way.
“Kendal is a hell of a player. Being able to go out there and play week in and week out at a high level. He just gets better. How he preps for the games. How he comes into the building. And him taking the green dot and commanding the defense. None of that is a shocker to us; we expected that.”