According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Atlanta Falcons safety J.J. Wilcox is out for the season with a torn ACL. This is a blow to the team’s depth at safety behind Ricardo Allen, Keanu Neal and Damontae Kazee. ACL injuries aren’t career ending anymore, but it doesn’t bode well for a roster-fringe player like Wilcox.
The ACL is the ligament in the middle of the knee that stabilizes it. Wilcox will have a recovery of around six-to-nine months before he’s able to take the field again, which would put his next chance past when the Super Bowl is played. Atlanta will have to look elsewhere for some depth at safety in 2019.
Wilcox has played in 79 games throughout his career and notched six interceptions. Atlanta will now have to rely on the winner of a battle between Chris Cooper, Jason Stanley and a few other undrafted free agents.
