FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — When Grady Jarrett tore his ACL last October, he started quickly doing the math on when he could return. He pinpointed July as a goal to make his comeback. As Atlanta conducted its first training camp practice, he reached that marker.
Not only that, but he feels as good as ever.
"I feel strong as I've ever been," Jarrett said. "I've always been super strong, that's how I'm able to do the job that I'm able to do at my size, position – stuff like that. But, I mean, I feel strong, explosive."
Jarrett said he has no physical limitations and will continue to ramp up his activity as the Falcons go through their own acclimation period, which started with a jog-through practice on Thursday and will lead to padded, full-contact practices next week.
He sported a knee brace during practice to further support that recovering knee, but Jarrett said it was simply a precautionary measure. Afterward, when he took it off before speaking with the media, it imprinted an outline around his newly-healed knee, but it didn't leave an impression on him mentally. Once he started competing for the first time again, it didn't hinder him. All he thought about was being back.
"(It's) definitely just the next step in where I'm at in my journey back to 100," Jarrett said. "... I'm excited to just be on the field. Whatever it gotta take for how to wear a brace, whenever I've had to wear one, I'm going to do it if I can play on the field."
Jarrett described his return to the field like riding a bike. Despite the injury, this felt normal. He's done this before. There were no pre-training camp jitters the night before — this is Jarrett's 10th camp after all — not playing for more than eight months allowed him to appreciate the mundane aspects of his routine.
"My routine to tape my fingers, wrists, ankles, I've missed that. I definitely missed that," Jarrett said. "Just being able to go out there, put my jersey on with the guys. It was definitely an exciting feeling."
His teammates and coaches were just as excited.
"Grady lights up everything that he does," Falcons head coach Raheem Morris said. "Whether it's the meeting room, whether it's practice, whether it's a gameday situation, everything in life, whether it's a community event — Grady is Atlanta. He embodies everything that we're about."
Hearing that level of reverence from his head coach only makes Jarrett want to go harder. He knows his best is required every day, and that's what he's prepared to give.
That energy was certainly palpable Day 1. On a screen play to Bijan Robinson going toward Jarrett's left, the defensive tackle had to plant and rely on his rehabbed right knee to break through. And he did, without issue.
"I can't control that instinct in me. If the ball's over there, I've gotta run over and get it," Jarrett said. "Just to feel it, get back to it, not even thinking about the leg; I mean, that felt good."
But, remember, it was a practice without any tackles so Jarrett couldn't complete the play like he would on Sundays. Though, if it were, Jarrett joked that he feels confident he "could have laid him down."
It was spring when the Pro Bowl defensive tackle first started to do more extensive on-field conditioning without thinking about his leg. When he started doing full-speed sprints, cuts and pass-rush drills, he knew he was on track to meet his goal. None of which would be possible without the work he put in since his season-ending injury.
"I'm starting training camp like I would any other year, so it's definitely a good sign," Jarrett said. "I wouldn't say (it's) a sigh of relief because the work's just starting. Just putting myself in position to be able to put the work in necessary to have a dominant season. That's what I wanted to do, and that's what I've done."
