The Atlanta Falcons entered this season with a good plan in their secondary, but an injury has caused an issue with that.
A.J. Terrell is the Falcons’ unquestioned top cornerback. He’s not playing right now, though.
The Falcons won’t have Terrell on Monday Night Football in Week 4 against the New Orleans Saints, and that’s not a surprise.
The more important question is when Terrell might get to return to action for the Falcons.
When is A.J. Terrell Coming Back?
Terrell cannot come back through Week 6. That’s the simplest way to answer the question.
In Week 2 against the Carolina Panthers, Terrell hurt his groin.
The next day, the Falcons placed Terrell on injured reserve.
An IR placement comes with a minimum four-game absence. That’s how the base level math works here for Terrell.
He wasn’t able to play in Week 3, which was a Thursday night win for the Falcons over the Packers.
He’s ineligible to play in Week 4 on Monday night against the Saints.
Then it’ll be a Sunday night matchup in Week 5 with the Baltimore Ravens, and still no Terrell.
The Falcons host the Chicago Bears in Week 6 and can’t have Terrell that day, either.
That means the first date that Terrell is even allowed to play again is Sunday, Oct. 25, when the Falcons host the San Francisco 49ers. That’s Week 7.
The Falcons don’t have their bye until Week 11, so there isn’t an easy, built-in, extra week of rest for Terrell to have.
The Falcons haven’t given a great indication of just how much time Terrell might miss.
While the main reason it stinks for the Falcons to not have Terrell is that he’s not on the field, there might be an extra personal annoyance for the Terrell family. That’s because the Falcons drafted Terrell’s brother this year.
A.J. Terrell Brother
Terrell’s young brother, Avieon, is also a cornerback.
The Falcons used a second-round pick to get Avieon onto their team for the 2026 NFL season.
Avieon has been getting a lot of snaps in the nickel corner role for the Falcons.
Without A.J. Terrell, the Falcons have also had to rely more at cornerback on Mike Hughes, C.J. Henderson, Billy Bowman Jr. and potentially even depth options like Malcolm DeWalt IV and Mike Ford Jr.
It could help the Falcons later in the year to have gotten snaps for their reserve CBs, because then once Terrell comes back from injury, they may be more comfortable getting on the field when they’re needed.
Even for A.J.’s younger brother Avieon, it’s a bit of a baptism by fire caused in part because older bro is out of action at the moment.
When is A.J. Terrell Coming Back? Injury Return Timeline for Falcons Star