The Atlanta Falcons couldn’t have imagined such a turnaround from Kendal Daniels.
The rookie linebacker lay on the turf after tackling Colston Loveland on Sunday, his facemask having smashed into the right knee of the Chicago Bears‘ young tight end.
Daniels needed his jersey top cut off to get his body in place to put onto the backboard. He had to be carted off and taken to a local hospital.
It’s not the kind of scene you see and immediately wonder when a guy might get back on the football field.
But in Daniels’ case, the answer was remarkably quick.
Kendal Daniels Injury Update
Daniels was back on the practice field on Wednesday, Atlanta’s first official practice of the week.
That comes after he was hurt just three days earlier.
No one would’ve expected such a turnaround, but evidently he avoided the worst-case scenarios from what his injury looked to be.
Kendal Daniels is practicing today.
Divine Deablo is not. https://t.co/IxUvlOXFuS
— Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) October 21, 2026
The Daniels updates that came after Sunday’s injury continued to be good.
First, the Falcons announced he had movement in all his extremeties.
Then a couple of reporters noted that Daniels was in the locker room after Atlanta’s game, having come back to the stadium to be with his teammates, and that he was walking under his own power.
Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski added positivity in his comments at the start of this week, as well, making it seem like all might be OK with Daniels.
And now him back on the practice field? That’s incredible.
Kendal Daniels’ Return Matters for Falcons
The Falcons will do their best to make sure Daniels is indeed in the right shape to return to game action.
But when he’s ready, he will be pivotal to what Atlanta does going forward.
Daniels made a career-high seven tackles before getting injured on Sunday, including a tackle for a loss.
Given that the Falcons’ linebacker group is quite beat up — particularly with the potential absence of Divine Deablo after an arm injury — an available Daniels would be a big boost.
The Falcons have a tough matchup on Sunday when they welcome the undefeated San Francisco 49ers to Atlanta.
The ‘Niners are beating teams on the ground (Christian McCaffrey, Kaelon Black) and through the air (Brock Purdy, McCaffrey, Mike Evans, George Kittle).
Atlanta is going to need all of the defensive talent and wisdom on the field that it can get.
And at the moment, Daniels is trending in the direction of being available just one week after his scary injury. That’s quite the recovery.
Falcons Get Remarkable Kendal Daniels Injury Update