Getty Julio Jones #11 of the Atlanta Falcons and Calvin Ridley #18.
This is the good news we’ve all been waiting for. Matt Ryan will have his top receivers back in the game when the Atlanta Falcons take on the Packers late tonight at 8:50 PM.
Tom Perlissero tweeted the report that Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley will play early Monday morning. He also confirmed that Aaron Rodgers will be without his top targets Davante Adams (hamstring) and Allen Lazard (core muscle).
Jones, who is fighting a hamstring injury, and did not practice at all last week and was listed as questionable before being ruled out Sunday. He returned to practice this week but was very limited. So far this season, he has recorded 11 catches for 181 yards.
Ridley, coming off of an ankle injury, leads the league in receiving yards per game (116.3), and has the second-most touchdown receptions (4) after three weeks.
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Jones Misses Week 3
Jones, 31, said not playing last week helped him. He also mentioned that he could have played but not to his best ability. He enters this week feeling good but “not 100%” yet.
“When you have soft-tissue, it’s like a day-to-day thing,” Jones said via ESPN. “You just really gotta feel it out. So you don’t know. You’re really uncertain with it. But I feel good. Just working just a little bit here and there every day; just building confidence and just getting the strength and everything back.”
In his last game, Jones had two catches for 24 yards against the Cowboys and said the hamstring affected him while running. If you watched the game, you could tell Jones was struggling to get up from tackles and limping on the sidelines.
Packers Down Two Stars
You never want to wish injuries upon players, but in the Falcons favor, Aaron Rodgers won’t have his receiving corps giving them an advantage.
Devante Adams tweeted this morning that he will not be playing in tonight’s game. However, the tweet has now been deleted.
Adams told ESPN earlier in the week that he wanted to make sure he was 100% before he took the field.
“I will be making sure I feel normal — like before it happened — before I step out there,” Adams said Thursday. “So we’re doing our thing to make sure that that’s the case.”
The Packers are also down rising star receiver Allen Lazard, who underwent core muscle surgery last week after climbing to Green Bay’s No. 1 wideout without Adams.
More Good News
Some good news to look at prior to the Packers matchup is that receiver Russell Gage has been clear to play coming off of a concussion. Behind the top three Falcons targets are Olamide Zaccheaus, Brandon Powell, and Christian Blake.
More good news, cornerback Kendall Sheffield will make his 2020 season debut this week after coming off of a foot injury.
To top it off, defensive tackle Grady Jarrett (hip), defensive end Dante Fowler (ankle), linebacker Foye Oluokun (hamstring), and right tackle Kaleb McGary (MCL) are all expected to play against the Packers at Lambeau Field.
Atlanta certainly has a chance to see their first win tonight.
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Falcons Matt Ryan Will Have His Offensive Weapons, Packers Aaron Rodgers Won’t