Inside Falcons RT Jawaan Taylor’s Return to Practice After Lengthy Absence

Jawaan Taylor joined the Atlanta Falcons back in April on a one-year deal worth $5 million, however, his contract isn’t guaranteed.

However, throughout the offseason, questions persisted on when Taylor would join the team on the football field, as he missed June’s mandatory minicamp and was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list during the first two weeks of training camp.

The right tackle was reactivated and cleared to practice on Aug. 10.

At joint practice with the Indianapolis Colts on Wednesday, Aug. 19, Taylor told reporters his absence from practice was due to recovering from a March “clean-up surgery” on his knee and subsequent rehabilitation for an on-field return.

He added that the season-ending triceps injury, which ended his 2025 NFL campaign and three-year tenure with the Kansas City Chiefs, was at “100 percent” after a 12-week process.

“It’s always really tough seeing your brothers out there playing ball, and you’re just on the sideline rehabbing,” Taylor said in Indianapolis.

“Just kept coming in, keeping my head down, working every day. Had a great team, great group around me, so it just kept me motivated and I’m just glad to be back out there.”

Taylor has been a full participant in Atlanta’s joint practices at the Colts’ Grand Park Sports Campus.

The 6-foot-5, 313-pound Super Bowl champion has been inserted with the starters in team drills, as expected when he first signed with the Falcons.

“Good to get Jawaan going,” Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski said. “There were some really good moments out there, and also some moments where you can see he’s still working through the time off. Pleased where he is. He’s a guy that I’ve witnessed putting in so much work to get back out here.”

The eighth-year veteran enters his first season in Atlanta in a very important role after stints with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Chiefs.

At right tackle, he’s responsible for protecting the blindside of whoever wins the Falcons quarterback battle, Michael Penix Jr. or Tua Tagovailoa, both left-handers. Taylor, the NFL’s most penalized player, must also be clean in his protection to increase his staying power in

Atlanta after his one-year contract expires following the 2026 NFL season.

“At the end of the day, it’s just ball,” Taylor said. “I just got to go out there and do my job, and help the team in every way I can.”

The Falcons and Colts will follow two days of joint practices with an NFL preseason Week 2 game on Saturday, Aug. 22, at Lucas Oil Stadium. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. EST and will be televised locally on FOX 5 Atlanta.

Taylor and the starters likely won’t play as Stefanski plans to rest them.

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