The Falcons released their final injury report headed into Week 15’s matchup against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccanneers and Atlanta will be down a few key players.
Star wideout Julio Jones is still battling a hamstring injury and will not play for a second-straight week. Starting safety Ricardo Allen is still out due to a concussion and won’t be able to return until he clears testing protocols. And rookie DT Marlan Davidson is having an unlucky season spending most of his time sitting out.
As for Kaleb McGary, he was out in Week 14 too for the same unknown family matter. He isn’t officially ruled out but has been questionable all week.
Falcons Final Week 15 Injury Report
FULL PARTICIPATION
FB Keith Smith (neck)
LB Mykal Walker (shoulder)
LIMITED PARTICIPATION
WR Calvin Ridley (foot)
DE Steven Means (hand)
G James Carpenter (groin) QUESTIONABLE
DE Jacob Tuioti-Mariner (elbow)
DT Grady Jarrett (groin)
NO PARTICIPATION
WR Julio Jones (hamstring) OUT
DT Marlon Davidson (knee) OUT
CB Darqueze Dennard (quad) OUT
S Ricardo Allen (concussion) OUT
T Kaleb McGary (personal matter) QUESTIONABLE
RB Todd Gurley (rest)
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Falcons Flex Delrick Abrams
The Falcons also announced that cornerback Delrick Abrams Jr. has been designated a flex to their active roster for Sunday’s game against the Bucs.
This move was made because Darqueze Dennard has been ruled out for Sunday’s game with a quad injury which leaves the Falcons down one of their starting cornerbacks. A.J. Terrell, Isaiah Oliver, and Kendall Sheffield will be expected to carry the defensive unit at that position.
Abrams has been on the Falcons practice squad since early September. The 23-year-old made his NFL debut in Week 3 for the Falcon when they faced the Bears. He also saw some action as a COVID-19 replacement player against the Packers one week later.
As a Colorado football alum, Abrams started 18 of 20 games and recorded 89 tackles, two tackles for loss, and 15 pass breakups.
Julio Jones Might Be Sidelined for Rest of Season
Jones missed his third game of the season last Sunday due to a hamstring injury.
He first injured his hamstring in Week 1 and since then, he reinjured it in Week 11 and it has only gone downhill from there. Interim head coach Raheem Morris will have to make a choice as to whether or not he will want to keep Jones sidelined for the remainder of the season or not.
If the Falcons choose to keep Jones sidelined, the All-Pro wide receiver would finish the 2020 season with 51 catches for 771 yards and three touchdowns, a career-high 75 percent catch rate, and 11.3 yards per target. This would mark the first season in six years that Jones wouldn’t break 1,000 receiving yards.
At 4-9 on the season, the Falcons are officially out of the playoff race, so it wouldn’t make sense for Jones to risk a more serious injury by finishing out the season. Also, with Jones sidelined, it would give third-year receiver Calvin Ridley a chance to over achieve his goal of 1,000 yards this season.
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Julio Jones Among 4 Falcons Starters Ruled Out vs. Tom Brady