Getty Russell Gage #83 of the Atlanta Falcons against the Buccaneers.
The Atlanta Falcons will officially be without two key starters on Sunday when they face the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium.
Top cornerback A.J. Terrell has been ruled out with a concussion and No. 2 wide receiver Russell Gage is dealing with an ankle injury. Backup wide receiver Frank Darby is also still nursing a calf injury that he suffered in last week’s practice.
Russell Gage, AJ Terrell and Frank Darby have been ruled out of Sunday’s game against the Giants.
So what does this mean? Well, Calvin Ridley and Kyle Pitts will have to carry even more workload this weekend. As for who takes over Russell’s spot––his duties will be handed over to Olamide Zaccheaus, Tajae Sharpe and Christian Blake.
And without Terrell in this mix on defense, Atlanta will turn to Isaiah Oliver and T.J. Green.
“You just got to have solutions. That’s the name of the game,” Falcons head coach Arthur Smith told ESPN. “You’ve got to have contingency plans. Things are going to come up. You lose a guy early in the game, what’s your plan?
“You got to prep for that stuff ahead of time and be able to adapt. That’s what we’re trying to build here, and so we expect other guys to step up.”
Green Could Get His First Start Since 2017
With the Falcons without their starting corner, we could see T.J. Green get his first start since 2017.
The versatile 26-year-old was originally a second-round pick by Indianapolis in 2016 where he played as a safety before joining the Seattle Seahawks in 2018. Since then, he has also played for the Carolina Panthers, New Orlean Saints appearing in five games with zero starts.
“He has really good length,” Falcons’ secondary coach Jon Hoke said, per ESPN. “He has very good long speed, and then, for a tall guy, I think he has really good short-area quickness. Those are always a little bit of a challenge for those guys. So he has really good physical traits and he understands football. He plays instinctively.”
Through 34 career games, Green has 91 career tackles and three pass deflections.
A Look at the New York Giants Injury Report
The Giants’ injury report runs a little longer than Atlanta’s, however, they have not ruled out anyone just yet.
Backup linebacker Cam Brown (hamstring) did not practice on Thursday while running back Saquon Barkley, wideout Kenny Golladay, defensive back Logan Ryan and tight end Evan Engram were all listed as limited participants.
Engram, th Giants’ top tight end has yet to play this season due to a calf injury. Giants’ head coach Joe Judge said Thursday that Engram had “a good day” at Wednesday’s practice. He is currently listed as questionable, so we’ll see if he suits up Sunday.
Here is New York’s most up-to-date practice report:
Did not practice
LB Cam Brown (hamstring)
Limited participation
RB Saquon Barkley (knee)
DB Nate Ebner (quad)
TE Evan Engram (calf)
WR Kenny Golladay (hip)
DL Austin Johnson (illness)
DB Logan Ryan (hamstring)
TE Kaden Smith (knee)
WR Kadarius Toney (ankle)
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