Chris Owens Has A Concussion, Robert McClain's Role To Expand

A couple of quick updates following Mike Smith's Tuesday afternoon press conference, which will be live on the mothership in short order. I'm getting my information from the team's Twitter feed at the moment.


So the bad news first. Chris Owens is going through the concussion protocol, which means he's quite likely to be formally diagnosed very soon, if he hasn't been already, and will sit out the Chargers game. Obviously, the Falcons got it done without him on Monday night, but it further dents the depth of a squad that could use a little more of it. The Falcons now only have four healthy cornerbacks on the active roster, and one of them is Dominique Franks.

The good news is that, partly out of necessity and partly out of impressive play in limited snaps, Robert McClain is going to see his role changed. That's a pretty narrow euphemism for "let's get this dude more snaps." McClain only had one big play, but that pick was well-executed and he looked sharp in coverage during his short time on the field. He probably deserves to get a few more snaps, and thanks to the injury issues, he's going to get a shot to prove he belongs in the rotation.

Smitty mentioned that a few other guys will get rest in practice this week, but no specifics yet. We'll find out starting tomorrow.

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