Jalen Mayfield was the presumptive favorite for left guard duties heading into the summer, given that the Falcons hadn’t acquired much in the way of competition. Two weeks into training camp, however, Mayfield appears to be well behind free agent addition Elijah Wilkinson, and apparently he’s also dealing with an injury at the moment.
Per Falcons head coach Arthur Smith and as relayed by The Athletic’s Josh Kendall, Mayfield has a “lower back issue” that kept him out of practice today. There’s no set timetable for his return, though Smith said “hopefully next week.”
Here's why left guard Jalen Mayfield missed practice today.