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Former Florida safety Keanu Neal to miss rest of season with torn Achilles
By Jake Rill
Published:
Another season has been cut short for Keanu Neal.
The former Florida and current Atlanta Falcons safety tore his left Achilles tendon on Sunday, and Falcons coach Dan Quinn confirmed Monday while meeting with the media that Neal will be out the rest of the season.
“I’m heartbroken for him, I love the guy,” Quinn told the media. “We’ll miss him tremendously, but he’ll miss it even more. This dude loves football, the physicality of it, the grittiness of it, and he’s an excellent teammate for us. He’ll bounce back, but I know how hard he worked to get here so I’m definitely bummed for him.”
It’s another tough injury for Neal, who tore his ACL in the first game of the 2018 season and missed the rest of the year. This season, Neal had 14 tackles through the Falcons’ first three games.
On Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts, Neal suffered the Achilles tear late in the second quarter, falling down in pain as he was running toward the end zone. He was then carted off the field at Lucas Oil Stadium.
After playing at Florida from 2013-15, Neal was selected by the Falcons in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft. He impressed in his first two pro seasons, eclipsing the 100-tackle mark in both 2016 and 2017, while also recording a total of eight forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, 14 pass deflections and an interception.
But now, Neal faces another long recovery and will focus on getting back on the field and trying to stay healthy in 2020.
Jake Rill contributes to news coverage for Saturday Down South. He has covered the SEC since 2016.
