Kendal Daniels (neck) questionable for Week 7

Daniels was carted off the field on a stretcher in the Falcons’ Week 6 loss to the Bears. It was a scary scene that paused the game for around fifteen minutes as Daniels’ neck was stabilized after he hit his head while attempting to make a tackle. Fortunately, the rookie appears to be okay as he appeared in practice as a full participant on Wednesday.

It was an ugly scene that saw the game paused for nearly fifteen minutes while medics tended to the rookie linebacker after he hit his head during a tackle attempt. It was unclear whether Daniels was able to move his extremities before exiting the field. We would expect Daniels to miss significant time.

Daniels played safety at Oklahoma State from 2022-2024 before transferring to Oklahoma and switching to linebacker. He ran a 4.79-second 40, clocked a 4.37-second short-shuttle drill and a 29.5” vertical jump at Oklahoma’s Pro Day. In his first college season, he was a Freshman All-American, second-team All-Big 12 and was named the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year. In his final season as a safety, Daniels totaled 64 tackles, 10.5 TFLs, 5.5 sacks and seven passes defended. As a linebacker in 2025, he totaled 53 tackles, nine TFLs and three passes defended. He should have little issue contributing on special teams right away, and could end up competing for a starting role.

Daniels (6'4/190) signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Texas A&M back in December, but just last week he was granted a release by the SEC program. A major factor in his decision to ask for the release was the departure of Ishmael Aristide, who was a defensive analyst at Texas A&M before being hired as the new outside linebackers coach at Miami. The four-star safety from Beggs, Oklahoma, considered to be the top Class of 2021 prospect in the state, will instead make the trek to Stillwater to play for Mike Gundy.

Daniels is not the only player to have done this recently. Former Tennessee recruit Dylan Brooks also got a release recently, and decided to move on to Auburn. Daniels (6'4/190) has not yet decided on his new destination, but he’s been released from his letter of intent to the Aggies. Daniels signed with Texas A&M back in December, so he was still a relatively fresh commit for them. Daniels also has offers from Alabama, Clemson, Auburn, and plenty of others worth keeping an eye on.