ATLANTA — The Atlanta Falcons will be moving forward the rest of the season with a massive hole in their defense.
11Alive's Maria Martin confirmed Monday morning the injury that took star defensive tackle Grady Jarrett out during the first quarter of Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans is an ACL tear will cost him the remainder of the season.
ESPN's Adam Schefter was first to report Jarrett's status.
Jarrett, 30, has become the face of the franchise in many ways as a two-time Pro-Bowler now in his ninth season, all of them in Atlanta. He had not previously missed a game since the 2018 season.
Last season Jarrett recorded six sacks and 61 tackles, playing all 17 games. He had 1.5 sacks and 23 tackles through the first seven games of this season. His ability to command double teams from opposing offensive lines has been a major disrupting factor for the Falcons pass rush - and will be all but impossible to replace at this stage of the season.
LaCale London followed Jarrett into the game against Tennessee but also picked up a knock and is officially listed as questionable for their next matchup with Minnesota on Sunday. Albert Huggins, who slotted behind Jarrett on the depth chart to start the year, was inactive for the Tennessee game.
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