FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Atlanta Falcons have placed safety Micah Abernathy on injured reserve, the team announced on Tuesday. Abernathy suffered a knee injury during the first quarter of the Falcons’ Week 6 victory over the Carolina Panthers last Sunday at Bank of America Stadium. The injury occurred during punt coverage following the Falcons’ opening offensive drive, and he was ruled out within five minutes of the game starting. Falcons head coach Raheem Morris mentioned in his post-game press conference that Abernathy “didn’t look great,” and he reiterated this on Monday with a more definitive statement. “Obviously, it’s a tough situation coming out of the game with a serious injury,” Morris said. “It looks like we’ll be without him for a significant period.” Before his injury, Abernathy was a key contributor to the Falcons’ special teams, logging 70% of their snaps in the first six games. For instance, he played 92% of the snaps in the Week 1 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
That’s where Abernathy primarily contributed for the Falcons in 2023 as well, playing 82% of the special teams snaps and only 3% of the defensive snaps in the 12 games he participated in. Abernathy made his NFL debut in 2022 with the Green Bay Packers, appearing in two games and logging 28% of the special teams snaps and just 1% on defense. Throughout his career, Abernathy has been mainly a practice squad player who eventually secured a spot on the active roster due to his special teams performance. With Abernathy now on injured reserve, the Falcons filled the newly available 53-man roster spot by promoting offensive lineman Matt Hennessy to the active roster. Hennessy reached his maximum of three practice squad elevations after last Sunday’s game against the Panthers, having also been elevated for the Week 4 victory over the New Orleans Saints and the Week 5 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. A third-round draft pick by the Falcons in 2020, Hennessy has played in 41 games and started 22 from 2020 to 2022. Despite his three practice squad elevations, he has not seen any live action this season. In addition to the roster changes, the Falcons also signed safety Dane Cruikshank and offensive lineman Coy Cronk to the practice squad. These moves come ahead of the Falcons’ matchup against the Seattle Seahawks at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, scheduled for a 1 p.m. ET kickoff on Sunday.
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