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Thomas DeCoud's concussion will keep him out of Sunday's game against the Washington Redskins, per the AJC's D. Orlando Ledbetter.
#Falcons rookie FS Zeke Motta to start vs. #Redskins, coach Mike Smith said on @790TheZone The Locker Room show. pic.twitter.com/gVklI9ylpc
— D. Orlando Ledbetter (@AJCFalcons) December 13, 2013
This is the expected outcome for DeCoud, who was making his way through the league's concussion protocol. In a season like this, there's no sense in rushing him back even if he was able to pass with flying colors, and he's clearly not able to.
Zeke Motta will get his first NFL start. Ol' Zeke has 10 tackles on the year in relief of DeCoud, coming in last week when DeCoud suffered the injury and earlier in the season when the starting free safety was benched. Motta may not be built to be a starting free safety, since he lacks great range and speed, but he's been solid enough in run support in his limited snaps and deserves this opportunity.
With DeCoud out, Kemal Ishmael will likely be a gameday active at last. Ishmael has an intriguing skill set, but hasn't been able to get on the field so far as he adjusts to the NFL. Hopefully he'll get some chances at snaps, because evaluating young guys is the single most important thing this team can do from here on out.
Thoughts on Motta's start and DeCoud's injury?
