How the Falcons’ Grady Jarrett was changed by injury — as a player and person

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Throughout his first nine years in an Atlanta Falcons uniform, Grady Jarrett has been more of a doer than a talker.

That changed on the penultimate day of the team’s 2024 offseason program as he stepped to a podium to discuss his return from the first significant injury of his long career and spoke for more than 20 minutes, some of them emotional, about how the experience has affected him.

“You can take little things for granted, like going to the restroom without help,” Jarrett said after the Falcons finished their second of three minicamp practices that will serve as their final team work until training camp in July. “From being a professional athlete at the top of my game to going back to having to learn how to walk functionally, that was my first time to go through that. It was a challenge and an eye-opener.”

Jarrett did not participate in any of Atlanta’s offseason practices because he is still rehabbing the torn ACL he suffered in Week 8 against Tennessee last season, but he plans to be full speed in time for the start of training camp.

“My goal is to get most of my reps in and not get too much special attention to the side,” he said.

Scoop City Newsletter

Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. Sign up

Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox. Sign up

Buy

The player, and man, who returns to the field will be different from the one who limped off it Oct. 29, he said.

“It was just a reminder that nobody is invincible,” he said. “Every day you get to step on this field, it’s a gift, and at any moment it can just go. Honestly, I felt like I was doing enough work to be strong enough to get me through every season and here I am, no control, small play, bump knee to knee, and I’m out of the season.”

Best year yet, stay tuned https://t.co/Kvb2ajQ7c0

— Grady Jarrett (@GradyJarrett) June 10, 2024

Jarrett has felt invincible at times in his career. For the seven seasons before his injury, the 6-foot, 305-pounder missed only two games. A fifth-round draft pick in 2015, he long ago surpassed his pedigree, and he enters his 10th season having earned two Pro Bowl appearances, registered 34 sacks and 114 quarterback hits and anchored the Falcons’ defensive line through a tenure that has featured more head coaches (three) than playoff appearances (two).

By the time his career is finished — and Tuesday the 31-year-old referenced the “many years I have left to play” — he likely will rank among the top five defensive players in franchise history. And yet, there he sat last fall unable to lift his leg.

“I remember the first time I sat off the edge of a table hanging my leg off, it felt like my leg was about to fall off just sitting there,” he said. “I couldn’t believe that with all my might I couldn’t lift my leg up. The week before, I was starting a game. Just that perspective and drastic change will make me a better player.”

GO DEEPER

Falcons embrace the Kirk Cousins effect, and 6 other impressions from minicamp

And man, he believes. Jarrett has developed more appreciation for everyone in his life, starting with partner Aja Thorpe, the mother of his 2-year-old son, Grayson.

“I got all the time with my son, and you think, ‘Oh, I can just hang with the kid.’ That boy is a handful all the time,” Jarrett said. “A couple times I had him by myself, I was like, ‘I don’t know how you do this every day. This is harder than training camp.’”

That gratitude extends all the way to the volunteers who power his Grady Gives charity foundation and the workers who are still trying to finish a seven-month backyard renovation for him.

“The unseen work people put into my life, I’ve got a new perspective and appreciation for that,” he said. “Life is hard; everybody works hard. I’m blessed that football is my hard. I can’t take that for granted.”

Immediately after Jarrett suffered his injury, he was hopeful it wasn’t serious, even believing he could return to the Titans game until the Falcons’ medical staff denied that request. Sitting in the kitchen of his Atlanta home that night and flexing his knee, Jarrett’s optimism increased. Then he woke up Monday morning. By the time he got to the team’s training facility 45 minutes from his home, he could barely get out of the car.

Thank you to all my family, friends, fans, supporters and my Brothers! For the support and well wishes, as I conquer this next challenge. I feel the love and prayers🙏🏾 In Due Time, Best is yet to come. pic.twitter.com/nVtUq4G9XI

— Grady Jarrett (@GradyJarrett) November 7, 2023

“Just heartbreaking,” he said of the moment the MRI confirmed an ACL tear.

On that Monday, Jarrett sat in a nearly empty Falcons locker room with assistant athletic trainer Danny Long and senior director of operations Brandon Ruth, two Atlanta staffers with as much tenure with the team as Jarrett, and absorbed the news.

“For them to be there with me in that moment, it meant a lot,” he said before his voice cracked with emotion.

While he was off the field, Jarrett watched Falcons games closely, including the sideline, and gained a greater appreciation for how a player’s body language and energy can affect his teammates. When he returns to the field, the Falcons expect him to immediately help the three rookie defensive linemen they drafted in April — Ruke Orhorhoro, Brandon Dorlus and Zion Logue.

“I think my best leadership style is by example, so spending time with them on the field is probably going to be the best way to try to lead them in the right direction,” Jarrett said. “I’m in the meeting rooms, but it’s just different.”

GO DEEPER

Kyle Pitts and his 'personal vendetta' to prove he has more to give Atlanta Falcons

After they were picked, all three players expressed gratitude that they could learn from Jarrett, particularly Orhorhoro, who like Jarrett is a Clemson alumnus.

“Man, I already heard Grady’s name 100 times at Clemson,” Orhorhoro said. “That was all (Clemson coach Dabo) Swinney would talk about, ‘Grady, Grady, Grady, Grady.’ I watched his tape and I’m like, ‘OK, I see why he’s talking about him now.’ I’m just excited to learn from a guy who has been in the league for 10 years and going on more.”

Jarrett must adjust to his third defensive coordinator in the last three years when he returns to the field. He already knows what to expect from new head coach Raheem Morris, who was his defensive coordinator and interim head coach in Atlanta in 2020.

“He’s a great leader of men, first and foremost, the way he’s able to connect to every player on the roster, every person in the building,” Jarrett said of Morris. “That comes from the type of person that he is and also the experiences that he’s had. I’m excited that he got the opportunity to lead this team to a really, really high place that I feel like we’re going to go. I’m very grateful to have him here, and I believe he’s the guy to get us where we want to be and we want to play championship football around here. That’ll come with putting the work in day in and day out.”

GO DEEPER

Rough road made Michael Penix Jr. 'uniquely prepared' for whatever may come in Atlanta

(Photo: Brett Davis / USA Today)