There wasn’t any indication earlier this week that anything might be wrong with Drake London.
But on Friday, London’s name suddenly showed up on the Atlanta Falcons‘ injury report for their Week 6 clash with the Chicago Bears.
It hadn’t been there in the two prior days of reporting injuries, so it must be something new or different, it seems.
London is the Falcons’ clear No. 1 wide receiver, and any kind of limitation or absence would be quite damaging to Atlanta’s Week 6 chances against Chicago.
Drake London Injury Update
London was added to the Falcons’ injury report on Friday.
He was listed as a limited participant in practice.
The problem, according to the injury report, is a hip injury.
Is Drake London Playing This Week?
The good sign for London is that the Falcons didn’t give him an injury designation, like “questionable.”
No designation next to London’s name means that the Falcons must not think that this is a big deal.
The one tricky part about a late-week add is that it’s never quite clear where the injury may have occurred.
Sometimes, a surprise limited practice means the player got hurt during practice, which is probably the biggest potential concern. It could also mean the player has been dealing with a nagging injury and the team is managing it — although if that was the case, you’d expect London to have shown up before on the report.
In this case, unless the Falcons amend the report to give London a questionable designation, it’s probably no big deal. But it’s certainly not what you want to see with a big-time receiver before a big game.
Falcons Injury Report
There were a bunch of other key notes on the Falcons’ injury report.
One is that Michael Penix Jr. practiced in full all three days this week and should start on Sunday against Chicago.
Another is that Za’Darius Smith is officially questionable with a neck injury. He practiced limited on Wednesday, then didn’t practice on Thursday before being limited again on Friday.
The Falcons ruled out C.J. Henderson, who didn’t practice all week due to a groin injury.
The Falcons upgraded defenders Cameron Thomas and Kendal Daniels to full practices from limited on Thursday.
Two players did get downgraded from full on Thursday to limited on Friday: LB Divine Deablo (hamstring) and OT Jake Matthews (groin). Neither has an injury designation, though.
The Bears’ injury report will be worth watching, too. Quarterback Caleb Williams is attempting to make his return this week from a hamstring injury.
Falcons’ Drake London Injury Update Suddenly Raises Week 6 Concern