The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rookie tackle McGary glad to be back at practice
FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons right tackle Kaleb McGary, who had a heart ablation procedure July 31, returned to practice on Sunday. The rookie first-round pick has been cleared for contact by the team, but the team did not practice in pads on Sunday or Monday.
“It feels good to move around,” McGary said Monday. “It’s been really boring sitting in meetings and not getting to do anything in practice. The gratification that you get through the day is gone. So, it’s been really awesome to get to play again.”
McGary said the procedure was to correct ventricular tachycardia, which according to the Mayo Clinic definition is a heart rhythm disorder (arrhythmia) caused by abnormal electrical signals in the lower chambers of the heart.
McGary had similar procedures in high school and college. The Falcons were aware of his heart condition and he was cleared by the doctors at the NFL scouting combine before being selected 31st overall in April’s NFL draft.
McGary, who was competing for the starting right tackle spot, left practice July 30 with what the team called an “illness.” He was in a 50-50 time share with the first-team snaps with Ty Sambrailo. The Falcons have McGary back at the fourweek mark after his surgery.
“Six to eight weeks is very common,” said Shephal Doshi, a cardiac electrophysiologist and director of cardiac electrophysiology and pacing at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif. “Usually, we do eight to 12 weeks, but because he’s young, he may not need the full 12 weeks, and they can probably get away with eight.”
The last time McGary had the procedure, his recovery time was six to eight weeks.
“I wouldn’t say it’s faster than I thought it would be,” McGary said. “I just tried to keep my expectations low and just go along with what the (doctors) say. I’m returning at the pace that the doctors say I should return at. I’m listening to what the team tells me to do.”
McGary’s heart problems surfaced in 2013 during a high school basketball game. He hopes the issue is fully corrected now.
“I still had a little bit and it didn’t surface until recently,” McGary said. “It was a bummer to have to deal with it again. Of course, nobody wants to go through heart surgery whether if it’s minor or not . ... Hopefully, it’s gone for good this time.”
With McGary rebounding and Sambrailo battling back from a shoulder injury, second-year tackle Matt Gono started the last exhibition game against Washington and was working with the first-team offense Monday.
LB Riley shows signs of improvement: Falcons LB Duke Riley, who opened the past two seasons as a starter, led the Falcons in tackles against Washington with six. “I think you come off of a game where you perform well and it always adds to your confidence,” coach Dan Quinn said on Monday. “One of the real topics we hit on him was how much stronger could he get during the offseason. That was something we pushed, so he’s bigger than he has been in the past. I think his legs are stronger than they have been in the past.”
Riley, who was drafted in the third round of the 2017 draft, helped to turned back the Redskins from a firstand-goal from the 1 and a second-and-goal from 1. On third down the Redskins had a holding penalty. Jermaine Grace batted down a pass on third down-and-11 and the Redskins were forced to kick a field goal.
“I think that leans into the good goal-line play,” Quinn said of Riley’s new strength. “That leans into his tackling. ... I thought he was one of the standouts in the game because of the physicality and the tackling. I want to see some more of that.”