Excitement is palpable even months out from the Cincinnati Bengals' exotic excursion to Madrid for Week 9's matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. Unfortunately for the Bengals' foe, one of their ascending young players, Jalon Walker, won't be suiting up fro that game or the entire 2026 season.
In what amounts to a massive break for the Madrid-eager Joe Burrow and the Bengals' offense, Walker suffered a torn ACL in training camp, per ESPN's Adam Schefter. The second-year hybrid edge defender was the 15th overall pick in the 2025 draft, just two spots before Cincinnati's Shemar Stewart, who's also injured in camp but not near as severely.
Walker's 5.5 sacks last season matched Stewart's total across three years at Texas A&M (4.5 sacks) and his rookie campaign (one). That only goes so far to explain how much Atlanta will miss Walker versus the Bengals, however.
Bengals' offensive line and Burrow dodge a havoc creator in Walker
Although he was an edge player and off-ball linebacker at the University of Georgia, Jalon Walker has focused almost exclusively on playing the edge in the NFL. He and fellow first-round pick James Pearce Jr. injected some life into a long-dormant Falcons pass rush in 2025.
That Pearce-Walker tandem looked like a problem for future foes, as Pearce set the rookie franchise record with 10.5 sacks. Alas, between Walker's injury and Pearce's legal issues that will likely culminate in a suspension, Atlanta's defense is in a real bind all of a sudden.
For a Bengals offensive line that returns all five starters, yet has struggled to handle Dexter Lawrence and the new-look defensive front in training camp, not having to face Walker is a massive advantage.
Burrow and his crew are running more plays from under center to diversify their scheme and perhaps create more explosive plays. You love to see it. But there will be ongoing growing pains.
Cincinnati's offense is a tough draw for anyone. Burrow's ability to get the ball out fast to elite weapons in Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins is hard enough to defend. Never mind an improving rushing attack, and the mammoth tackle tandem of Orlando Brown Jr. and Amarius Mims up front making it tough for any pass rusher to navigate around
At least for Brown and Mims, their assignments just got a lot easier. Maybe Pearce is in action by Week 9, but even if he is, with all the off-field noise, will he be anywhere close to his rookie-year form? I doubt it.
Beyond Pearce, the next men up to face Cincinnati — barring some unforeseen acquisition — are Samson Ebukam, Azeez Ojulari, and Cameron Thomas. Not the most electrifying trio.
All the best to Jalon Walker in his recovery. Football purists and even the most diehard of Bengals fans should want the Falcons to be as close to full strength as possible in the spirit of competition and growing the game of football in Madrid as part of the NFL International Series. It's a shame one of Atlanta's most exciting young players won't get to be a part of that seminal showcase.
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