DJ Chark Signing Does Not Spell Disaster For Atlanta Falcons’ Darnell Mooney

On Thursday, the first day of training camp, Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney went down and walked off the field with a trainer and never returned back to practice. 

On Friday, the Falcons signed veteran wide receiver DJ Chark to a one-year deal.

Assistant general manager Kyle Smith addressed the media on Saturday and was asked about the signing and if it meant that Mooney’s injury was very serious than originally thought.

“That workout was already set up. You know, DJ [Chark] was already coming in,” Kyle Smith said.

When Atlanta signed a wide receiver the day after Mooney went down, there was a lot of speculation that the Mooney injury may be serious. A report came out on Friday night that Mooney has a shoulder injury and will miss the majority of training camp.

However, we now know that the Chark signing was always scheduled to happen, and was not an expedited call made by general manager Terry Fontonet and company in order to rush and find a body to replace Mooney in the wide receiver room.

That should be very calming for Falcons fans, as Mooney was a very integral part of the offense in 2024. 

Smith was asked if Mooney would be ready to go in Week 1. He said he would leave the injury updates to coach [Raheem] and Terry, but he has full faith in the medical staff and also Mooney as a competitor that he will do anything he can to get back to action as soon as possible. 

Chark had just 31 yards last season, but had back-to-back seasons with 500+ yards in 2022 and 2023 with the Detroit Lions and Carolina Panthers, respectively. Smith believes he can compete for a roster spot in Atlanta with the likes of Ray-Ray McCloud, KhaDarel Hodge, Casey Washington, Jamal Agnew, and others.