The Atlanta Falcons already are shorthanded on offense. They’re without quarterbacks Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa for Week 2 against the Carolina Panthers — being forced to start Cooper Rush for the second game in a row.
They don’t need bad news on defense, but only about three hours before kickoff on Sunday, they got a brutal update.
Turns out, the Falcons may not be at full strength on defense, either.
Falcons’ Late Injury News
The Falcons’ linebacker group is in jeopardy:
Divine Deablo is questionable due to illness.
He wasn’t previously listed on the injury report, but the news came out after 9:30 a.m. on Sunday.
Atlanta Falcons ILB Divine Deablo’s game status has been updated to questionable due to illness.
— Tori McElhaney (@tori_mcelhaney) September 20, 2026
NFL teams are required to report things like this, so if Deablo woke up sick, it’s the correct thing for the Falcons to report it based on the league rules.
It obviously raises some alarm bells for everyone planning on rooting on Atlanta on Sunday. They’re going up against a Panthers team that just put up 37 points in Week 1. Having a weakened defense doesn’t seem like an ideal situation.
Deablo could still play. This could be more a matter of procedure than anything else, but if it’s a true question mark, that’s not ideal timing at all.
The 28-year old, 6-foot-3 Deablo is a serious presence defensively. In the first week of the season, he had seven tackles (three solo, four assisted) against the Pittsburgh Steelers, including a tackle for loss.
Atlanta’s defense was solid in the opener, a 20-13 loss not helped by an ineffective Falcons offense that couldn’t stay on the field for very long.
If Deablo can’t play, the assumption is rookie Kendal Daniels will take over as the Falcons’ green dot. https://t.co/ltRpLoHCir
— Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) September 20, 2026
Divine Deablo Replacement
Deablo generally lines up as the left inside linebacker in the Falcons’ base 3-4 system.
If he doesn’t play, it’s likely that Josh Woods will get more action. The other candidates to play more are rookie Harold Perkins Jr., as well as Christian Harris.
The Falcons have no linebackers on their practice squad, and even if they did, this injury development would be too late to move someone up.
Atlanta is already without nickel cornerback Billy Bowman Jr. (Achilles) for Week 2, which doesn’t directly impact the linebacker rotation but does affect how many different formations the Falcons could potentially line up in to make up for an unexpectedly absent linebacker.
Deablo still has a chance to prove himself in warmups and be fine, but this would be a late twist that the Falcons don’t really need.
Falcons’ Last-Minute Injury News Lists Starter as Questionable for Week 2