ATL Standard

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — An opportunity has emerged within the Atlanta Falcons secondary, and safety Micah Abernathy appears to be capitalizing on it.

Falcons head coach Raheem Morris announced Monday that safety DeMarcco Hellams will be sidelined for a significant period due to an ankle injury. Despite being listed as the backup safety behind starters Jessie Bates III and Richie Grant, Hellams' return date remains uncertain.

Hellams had started alongside Grant in the Falcons' opening loss to the Miami Dolphins last Friday.

"We're anxious to see, OK, if DeMarcco isn't going to play this week, who's going to be the next guy?" said Falcons assistant head coach/defense Jerry Gray on Monday. "Who's going to be out there? What if Jessie's not in, who's going to be the next guy? We're always looking for that next safety that's going to help us. Can you be a really good guy on special teams, not take a lot of (defensive) reps, but if your number is called, can you go out there and make those plays?"

On Thursday, Abernathy demonstrated his potential. During an 11-on-11 drill between the second-team defense and first-team offense, Abernathy intercepted a pass from quarterback Kirk Cousins intended for wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud. The interception featured a notable return that could have resulted in a touchdown during a game scenario.

"(Abernathy) is somebody that I feel like a lot of people label him as a special teams player, which he's great at," Bates said Thursday. "But he's continued to get better at his craft as a safety as well. He has all the ability to be great at it. For him to get an interception off Kirk today, and then he fit a couple runs down there in the red zone, it's just the standard. That's the standard of our DB room."

Abernathy is currently listed as a backup safety on the latest depth chart but has significantly fewer defensive snaps compared to Hellams. In 2023, Abernathy participated in only 3% of the Falcons' defensive snaps while Hellams took 37%, including four starts.

Preseason games offer Abernathy a chance to prove himself further. He played 41% of defensive snaps against the Dolphins and will have another opportunity this Saturday.

In unrelated news regarding interceptions on Thursday, starting cornerback A.J. Terrell also picked off quarterback Michael Penix Jr., intercepting a pass intended for wide receiver OJ Hiliare during another 11-on-11 drill.

"Yeah, 1-on-1, you got to give your guy a chance and that's what I did," Penix said about his pass attempt. "A.J. made a good play. He was out of bounds, though."

From this reporter's perspective, it was difficult to confirm or deny Penix's claim about Terrell being out of bounds.

The defense reacted positively nonetheless.

"Coach (Justin) Hood challenged us," Bates said. "We got to start attacking the ball out of the air... For it to show up in practice and we're actually getting some turnovers, it's good."