Jeff Okudah will get MRI on ankle injury after getting carted off practice field

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – The Atlanta Falcons had one of their projected starting defensive backs carted off the practice field Friday during training camp.

Cornerback Jeff Okudah went down after breaking up a pass attempt from quarterback Desmond Ridder to wide receiver Frank Darby in one-on-one drills. Okudah was unable to get up on his own, which drew the attention of the Falcons’ medical staff. While being transported to the locker room, an athletic trainer was tending to Okudah’s right ankle.

Falcons coach Arthur Smith had no firm update on Okudah after practice beyond confirming it was indeed an ankle injury.

“We’ll have more once he gets done with an MRI,” Smith said. “Hopefully, it’s optimistic and he’ll be back out there, but that’s kind of where we’re at. I hate to be that vague. It isn’t the time to be vague for competitive edge or whatever.”

Okudah joined the Falcons this offseason, having been traded from the Detroit Lions to Atlanta for a fifth-round draft pick. The Lions originally drafted Okudah with the No. 3 overall pick in 2020 out of Ohio State.

Last season, Okudah appeared in career-high 15 games with 73 tackles, seven pass breakups, and a forced fumble. The one interception he snagged against the Chicago Bears, he returned for a 20-yard touchdown.

Okudah spent part of 2020 and most of 2021 on injured reserve.

“The journey is not over,” Smith said. “Unfortunately, Jeff has had some injuries. And I say this all the time, sometimes it’s not just physical rehab; it’s mental. There are a lot of obstacles you have to overcome. We’re mindful of that. Hopefully we get good news out of the MRI, and then we’ll just take it from there.”

Smith was mindful of those beyond Okudah, too.

Once Okudah was gone, Smith took a moment to check in on his defensive teammates. He thought some would need to process what happened in their own way. And he was right. Members of the secondary and linebacker group came together, took a knee and prayed.

“It’s a close team,” Smith said. “Sometimes you see things. Unfortunately, we’ve seen stuff. When things are an obvious fracture, those are hard to look at. It wasn’t anything like that, thankfully. But they care about their teammate.”

In Okudah’s absence, Tre Flowers lined up at cornerback opposite A.J. Terrell during seven-on-seven work. That left Cornell Armstrong and Clark Phillips with the second team.

Dee Alford and Mike Hughes then worked in the slot position in the Falcons’ nickel package.

“Tre has experience, he’s a veteran, and he has played multiple roles,” Smith said. “But he’s just one of the guys that’s competing really good out there. Cornell Armstrong. Clark (Phillips III). Mike (Hughes). Dee (Alford). We’ve got a lot of depth at a lot of spots.

“Hopefully, we get good news on Jeff. But we feel like we have good depth and good competition.”

Roll call: Offensive…