Getty Foye Oluokun #54 and Deion Jones #45 of the Atlanta Falcons tackle Michael Thomas #13 of the New Orleans Saints.
The Atlanta Falcons welcomed back top linebacker Deion Jones to practice on Wednesday, December 1st.
Jones practiced all last week up until Friday when he landed on Week 12’s injury report with a shoulder injury. He was then ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Falcons head coach Arthur Smith told the media that Jones will be considered day-to-day, which means he is not 100% healthy just yet.
Smith also made noted that Ollison, who missed Week 12 with an illness, also practiced fully on Wednesday. Ollison is on the practice squad, so his name won’t show up on the official injury report.
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Jones Is the Falcons No. 2 Defender
Jones, who has recorded 92 tackles so far this season, currently trails behind lead tackler Foye Oluokun’s 119 tackles. After that, safety Erik Harris sits at third with just 61 tackles and A.J. Terrell is not too far behind that with 51.
The Falcons’ defense held up well on Sunday against the Jaguars, holding them to just 14 points and intercepting Trevor Lawrence once.
Second-year linebacker, Mykal Walker, stepped up in place of Jones and recorded a career-high 12 total tackles. The 6-3 and 240-pound linebacker was initially a fourth-round selection out of Fresno State in the 2020 NFL Draft and unlike last season, he hasn’t been used much under Dean Pees. Not to mention that prior to Week 12, he only had 11 tackles on the season. But after a successful 7th career start, it looks like Pees could be using him more moving forward.
But of course, having Jones back in the lineup will be a huge gain for the Falcons’ defense that is about to a stingy Tampa Bay offense led by Tom Brady.
Falcons’ Week 13 Injury Report
Below is the Falcons injury report for Wednesday of Week 13:
Full Participation
CB Kendall Sheffield (hamstring)
LB Deion Jones (shoulder)
Limited Participation
N/A
Did Not Participate
RB Cordarrelle Patterson (non-injury related, resting)
DL Grady Jarrett (non-injury related, resting)
DL Jonathan Bullard (ankle)
In addition to Deion Jones’s return, backup cornerback Kendall Sheffield also returned as a full participant.
Sheffield landed on the injured reserve for an undisclosed injury ahead of the 2021 season. He soon returned at the end of September but was injured again in Week 9’s victory over the Saints, exiting the game early because of his hamstring.
Sheffield, who is listed as a backup, played 13 games for the Falcons last fall and started in nine of them.
He’s one of six cornerbacks on the Falcons’ 53-man roster behind A.J. Terrell, Isaiah Oliver and Fabian Moreau. He also falls behind rookie corner Darren Hall, who was taken in the fourth round this year, and Avery Williams, who was selected in the fifth round.
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