In his job as the head coach of Georgia, Kirby Smart has seen countless players get drafted into the NFL. And even when they continue playing football, one thing is certain with Smart and his former players. He never stops caring about them. After a former Bulldog got a season-ending injury, the Georgia head coach was among the first ones to reach out to him.

“I talked to Jalon yesterday, I guarantee you he has a smile on his face today because he knows he is not only defined by football,” Smart said about Atlanta Falcons Jalen Walker, per UGASports.com’s Rusty Mansell.

As he joined his fellow Falcons in preparing for the 2026 NFL season, Jason Walker suffered an ACL tear during training camp on August 4. Therefore, he will miss the entire season.

The injury came while the Falcons were conducting a two-minute drill late in their sixth practice of training camp. As the drill was underway, Walker fell while trying to round the corner on a pass rush. His teammates went to one knee on the field as he was taken off, and first-year head coach Kevin Stefanski ended practice after briefly assembling the team.

“That was tough. We all know what he means to the team,” Falcons outside linebackers coach John Timu said Wednesday, according to The Athletic. “When he comes in, we feel it. Huge loss.”

Jalon Walker played for Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs for all three years of his collegiate football career before entering the 2025 NFL Draft. In the draft, the Atlanta Falcons selected him with the No. 15 overall pick. He played all 15 games in his freshman year in 2022 and was a part of Smart’s Bulldogs team that won the national championship against TCU.

As a junior, Walker emerged as a dominant force: 60 tackles, 10.5 for loss, 6.5 sacks, and a forced fumble across 14 games—enough to earn first-team All-American honors.

Walker was expected to start at outside linebacker for the Falcons this year before his injury. As a rookie in the NFL, he finished with 5.5 sacks, 36 total tackles (24 solo), one pass defended, two forced fumbles, nine quarterback hurries, and one fumble recovery.

His fellow pass rusher and 2025 draft pick, James Pearce Jr., with whom he helped the defense record a franchise-record 57 sacks, is expected to be suspended by the NFL.

The absence of the pair will mean a lot to Stefanski’s team, given how important their roles should have been in 2026. The Falcons will now make do with Cameron Thomas, Keshawn Banks, Azeez Ojulari, and Samson Ebukam.

Walker’s teammates wish him a speedy recovery

Walker has been showered with so much love and care in this difficult situation. He witnessed it immediately after being taken to the locker room on a cart, and even afterward.

“My thoughts and my prayers go out to Jalon. I have had to endure those types of injuries before, and you don’t wish that on anybody. Just prayers up and sending him positivity,” defensive tackle Maason Smith said, according to The Athletic.

“Definitely not what you want to see but … we understand that injuries come with the game,” quarterback Tua Tagovailoa said. “At the end of the day, I’m no doctor. I’m no medical guy. From there, I would say all we can do is just pray for J and hope that he’s going to be OK.”

The Falcons must improvise immediately, as they have quite an unfriendly run of games in the first few weeks of the 2026 season.