Falcons rookie safety Keanu Neal said after Thursday’s game that he thought he would be ready to play in the regular season opener after hurting his knee against the Dolphins.
An MRI said otherwise, however. The Falcons announced that the test determined that Neal suffered damage to the knee that will require arthroscopic surgery. Neal is scheduled to have the surgery on Monday.
He is expected to miss 3-4 weeks, which will keep him from playing in the team’s Week One home game against the Buccaneers at the very least. The Falcons travel to Oakland and New Orleans for their next two games before returning home to host the Panthers.
Kemal Ishmael and Robenson Therezie are the second-string safeties on the Falcons depth chart behind Neal and Ricardo Allen.
