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It appeared the Falcons had actually made it through a game without anyone getting injured, at least ostensibly so, because there weren't any noteworthy injuries during the game. Then Vaughn McClure tweeted this:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Matt Ryan had his lower right leg heavily wrapped with ice.</p>— vaughn mcclure (@vxmcclure23) <a href="https://twitter.com/vxmcclure23/statuses/394618115541057536">October 28, 2013</a></blockquote>
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McClure later tweeted that Ryan self-reported he's not injured. Ryan said he is fine, but I'll be honest, I'm not certain I believe that, not this season. We're just not that lucky. I'm sure we will hear more about this in the very near future it if there's truly an issue. I don't think we will need to wait until Wednesday, when the week's first injury report comes out. But this potential injury (that's all it is at this point) does raise a couple questions.
First, if this is a Roddy White version 2.0 scenario, do we sit Ryan? In other words, if Ryan isn't 100 percent, given the very slim chance we'll make the playoffs, is it worth it to trot him out there? Granted, we're not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs just yet, but we're awfully close. I'm not a fan of losing out on purpose, just to ensure the highest draft pick possible. But I'm also not a fan of jeopardizing Ryan's long-term health for no reason at all.
Second, can Thomas Dimitroff and company afford to trot out mediocre-at-best offensive lines in the coming years? I understand the limitations of the salary cap, but Ryan can't get hit like he's getting hit this year. He's an investment, and you protect your investments, especially your most valuable one. Ryan deserves better than this offensive line, he really does. Immediately after his fourth and final interception, Ryan was absolutely rocked. Like you're going to lose a few brain cells - and not the slow ones that die when you drink - kind of rocked.
Your thoughts?