During the fourth quarter of the Falcons' preseason matchup against Jacksonville, seventh-round pick Cliff Matthews went down on the field with an unspecified injury and now has reportedly been taken to the locker room. Fortunately, the injury doesn't appear to be too serious, and I'd be surprised if Matthews is forced to miss any sort of extended time in next week's practice.
This injury comes after Matthews had a pretty solid game, highlighted by him pressuring fellow rookie Blaine Gabbert and forcing him to throw the ball out of bounds. While he won't be a starter, Matthews has had a very good showing in training camp so far, and should definitely be a big contributor to the Falcons defensive end rotation in the regular season.
You certainly never want to see an injury, but this could open the door for someone like Lawrence Sidbury to get more playing time and show some positive things to the coaching staff.
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