Falcons Rookie Kendal Daniels Hospitalized, Alert After Scary On-Field Injury

The Atlanta Falcons are currently getting boatraced by the Chicago Bears, but the only update anyone in the building actually cares about just dropped. Rookie linebacker Kendal Daniels was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital after a scary on-field incident, but the team confirmed he is alert and has movement in all his extremities.

When a team's PR account has to tweet out a medical status update mid-game, the collective breath of an entire fanbase just stops. Hearing that a guy can move his arms and legs is the exact phrase you want to see on your timeline after the medical staff rushes the field.

"Marc Raimondi reported the Falcons' statement that Daniels is alert and has movement in all his extremities."

Daniels has been one of the few actual bright spots for an Atlanta defense that has spent most of Sunday afternoon getting completely dismantled. The 6-foot-5, 242-pound rookie out of Oklahoma has 22 tackles on the year and was just coming off a breakout eight-tackle, one-sack performance against the Baltimore Ravens last week.

It puts a 31-7 deficit into perspective real quick. You can fix a broken run defense in film study, but you cannot scheme your way out of a hospital trip. The Bears might be running up the score, but the only stop that actually mattered today was the medical staff getting Daniels stabilized and off the turf.

Anyone holding live tickets on this game or sweating out Falcons defensive props has already moved on, because the sportsbooks essentially closed up shop on this blowout hours ago. The betting implications take a massive backseat when a 23-year-old kid is getting loaded into an ambulance.

We will wait for the official word from the doctors at Grady Memorial before figuring out what the Atlanta linebacker rotation looks like going forward. For now, the Falcons have to finish out a miserable Week 6 slate, but the only postgame quote that matters will be the one confirming Daniels is going to be okay.