Kevin Stefanski Provides Encouraging Update on Kaleb McGary

PHOENIX – The Atlanta Falcons got a small update on right tackle Kaleb McGary. According to ESPN’s NFL Nation reporter Marc Raimondi, there "is hope" that he will be ready for training camp this summer. This timeline would place him right around 11 months from the initial injury last summer, on August 20th, the final day of training camp. 

After being forced to be without their stalwart right tackle for the entire 2025 season, the Falcons will be hoping to bring him back into the mix as soon as possible. 

The Falcons inked McGary to a two-year, $30 million extension last summer, just a few weeks before he injured his leg. Before that injury, the right tackle had been a mainstay along the Falcons’ offensive line since being drafted in the first round in 2019. He had appeared in 93 games (92 starts) at right tackle during that time. 

In his place, the Falcons turned to Elijah Wilkinson, and the guard flipped to right tackle and played the full 17 games for Atlanta in 2025. He has since left in free agency, signing with the Arizona Cardinals. 

Various players returning from season-long injuries will be a major storyline for the Falcons this offseason, but none will be bigger than quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Stefanski noted that the third-year player is in the building “all the time,” but that they are not going to rush his process along this spring. 

“There are obviously timelines when it comes to injuries, but we are all different. So, we want to see how he looks in a week, how he looks in a month,” Stefanski added, via Tori McElhaney of the team’s website. 

When he does return, he will be in a fight for his job with newcomer Tua Tagovailoa. 

“It will be a competition, but I can’t tell you exactly what it will look like until Michael gets healthy,” Stefanski said. “But the quarterback position, like all of our other positions, will be a competition, yes.”

Others who are set to return from leg injuries that have a chance to start games in 2026 include nickel cornerback Billy Bowman Jr. and inside linebacker Troy Andersen. Neither player received an update from Stefanski or any other executive in Phoenix.