After having an amazing bounceback season, Desmond Trufant has been bitten by the injury bug once again. Ian Rapoport is reporting that Trufant’s arm is broken and he’ll be finished for 2019.
Trufant was injured at probably the worst possible time in 2016 as he was badly missed during the Super Bowl. He’s been healthy since, and now he’s going to miss time during a lost season. Tru was having his best year so far in terms of takeaways, and his 4 INTs ranks T-2nd in the NFL. His 7 passes defended was on pace to be a career best as well.
The Falcons’ already fairly thin secondary has been ravaged by injuries over the past two seasons. Trufant will join Keanu Neal on IR and Sharrod Neasman on the injury report. Cornerback has been a position of discussion for the 2019 draft with the possibility of Atlanta targeting Jeff Okudah. Isaiah Oliver and Kendall Sheffield will have every opportunity to prove themselves now, and a matchup against Deebo Samuel and the 49ers will be their toughest one yet. Atlanta would have a tough matchup WITH Trufant playing, and now the task gets even taller. If Atlanta gets torched by Kyle Shanahan and company, the implication for choosing Okudah to pair with Tru next season becomes more likely.
We’ll update you on any more Atlanta injury updates for Week 15.