This guy was questionable just a week ago, mind you. Oy vey.

Poor Justin Peelle has a hernia and is going to miss four-to-six weeks at minimum. With the clandestine nature of the Mike Smith injury report, it's entirely possible he's running for his life from Spetsnaz soldiers on the docks of Vladviostok with only a knife and some acorns for protection. Which, let's be honest, would be awesome.

With Peelle out, the Falcons have lost a reliable backup on the offense for the forseeable future. Thankfully, the Falcons have a backup plan in the form of Michael Palmer, the undrafted rookie who turned in an impressive pre-season. There's no reason to believe he's as capable a tight end as Peelle at this stage of his career, but he profiles as a capable backup who can catch a few passes and throw some blocks. Luckily for Palmer, the future is now.

This shouldn't substantially affect the fortunes of the Falcons' offense. Peelle did play quite a bit in two tight end sets, but he was called upon infrequently as a pass-catcher. More worrying is how decent Palmer is at blocking, which the Falcons need more of now. We didn't really get a chance to see him flash skills in that area earlier this season, but we'll damn sure get the chance now.

Thoughts?