Getty Kurt Benkert #6 of the Atlanta Falcons.
On Saturday the Falcons cut their roster down from 78 players to their final 53-man roster.
Some of the cuts were surprising, including backup quarterback Kurt Benkert.
After he got the disappointing call, Benkert tweeted, “One way or another I am good and I am blessed. It’s a marathon that I won’t stop running for.”
Several fans responded to Benkert’s tweet very upset about his release and to let him know they’re rooting for him.
And many, many more…
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No Preseason Possibly Hurt Benkert
It’s obvious Quinn believes in Benkert’s ability to eventually take over at quarterback or they would have drafted one this year….or so we thought.
However, Benkert was still considered third-string behind Matt Schaub and he didn’t have the preseason to battle it out.
Prior to his season-ending injury last season, Bekert played in the preseason game where he made quite an impression during Atlanta’s 12-10 loss to Denver. He even ended up outplaying Drew Lock leading the offense to all 10 of its points and threw for 185 yards with one touchdown pass to Brian Hill.
I can’t make excuses for Benkert, but having no preseason this year most definitely hurt him. since coaches weren’t able to get a “real feel” for him. They did have a handful of intra-squad scrimmages, but the energy and the pressure in a scrimmage don’t have the same effect as they do in a real match up.
Let’s hope Benkert makes the practice squad, but if he does he’ll have a lot of pressure on him to make no mistakes when he gets playing time as a third-string.
And if you’ve been following him during this offseason, you’ll notice that he’s been training extremely hard through quarantine and has an optimistic mindset that will work out in his favor.
Benkert Keeps Positive Mindset After Season-ending Injury
Benkert’s foot injury last year wasn’t the first season-ending injury for him, quite frankly it wasn’t the worst for him either. During his collegiate career, Benkert was set to become the record-breaking starting quarterback for East Carolina University. Unfortunately, he tore his ACL a week before the season opener—an injury that would change his career’s path forever.
Through both injuries, Benkert continued to stay positive throughout the recovery process.
“The one in college was the hardest one because there’s so much uncertainty as a college player, you don’t know”, Benkert told Heavy.com. “Is this going to affect me getting into the NFL? How are people going to view me? You start thinking to yourself, are you injury prone? That was kind of just a freak injury.
“The one in the preseason (2019) I got tackled wrong and there was nothing I could do. But a non-contact injury (ACL) is a little scary. But knock on wood I haven’t had anything like that happen since so it’s been good to kind of get over that hump. I know that if I get injured again later on down the line, I’m going to overcome it. So it’s not like it’s the end of the world. It was hard when I was young though.”
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