Inside The Huskies

Ex-Husky Trice Suffers Injury in NFL Exhibition Debut

The edge rusher went down shortly before halftime in Falcons' preseason opener.

Dan Raley

Former Husky edge rusher Bralen Trice got hurt in his NFL preseason opener for Atlanta.
Former Husky edge rusher Bralen Trice got hurt in his NFL preseason opener for Atlanta. / Sara Diggins / USA TODAY NETWORK

Healthy throughout his University of Washington football career, Bralen Trice didn't last a half in his first NFL outing for the Atlanta Falcons, going down with a leg or an ankle injury in Friday night's exhibition opener in Miami.

With 26 seconds remaining before intermission, the former Husky edge rusher ended up on the ground rolling around in pain, suffering either a left leg or ankle injury, and didn't play again in the Falcons' 20-13 preseason loss in Miami.

The 6-foot-4, 274-pound Trice, a third-round draft pick, left the field with his right arm wrapped around a staff member for support, putting little pressure on his injured limb.

The Falcons also lost veteran safety DeMarcco Hellams to some sort of leg injury, as well, requiring him to be taken away on a motorized cart. Both players were to be further examined on Saturday by medical personnel.

"We had the two injuries in the game that I know about right now that felt bad," Falcons coach Raheem Morris said.

The injuries left a pall over what otherwise was an upbeat rookie debut for former UW quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who completed 9 of 16 passes for 104 yards, including one throw for 41 yards, and looked comfortable in a pro football setting.

Penix, cool in the pocket and holding up well under pressure, played only the first half and came out with Atlanta trailing 17-10.

Of other ex-Huskies who played Friday night, rookie offensive tackle Troy Fautanu suffered a minor MCL sprain, according to a postgame report, in the Pittsburgh Steelers' 20-12 loss to the Houston Texans.

The injury, however, is not expected to be serious for the 6-foot-4, 317-pounFautanu, who was the No. 20 overall pick in the draft for Pittsburgh.

For the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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