clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

How healthy are the Falcons heading into training camp?

Jake Matthews, William Moore and others are working their way back from injuries.

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

While NFL injury reports are frequently a source of confusing injury information, they at least give you a rough idea of the issue a player is facing. In the offseason, we have nothing more than the word of the coaching staff and players' performances on the practice field to go by, which makes it difficult to know how they're faring.

Given that limited information, this may not be the ideal time to check in on the Falcons' various injuries, but it's useful to know where players stand before training camp kicks off tomorrow.

Out

OT Lamar Holmes: Slimmed down heading into minicamp, Lamar Holmes suffered a broken foot and is going to miss some time, perhaps even all of training camp. We'll hope he's made a quick recovery over the last month and will be ready to hit the field and compete for a spot sooner than later, but as of right now, chances are good you won't see him for at least a handful of weeks.

Doubtful

LB Marquis Spruill: As much as I'd like to have Spruill back on the field, he's returning from a torn ACL and hasn't been practicing up to this point. Chances are the Falcons will exercise caution with him and try to ease him back in, so while we'll hope he's out there starting on Friday, chances are good you won't see him going until a week or two down the line.

Questionable

CB Dezmen Southward: The converted safety had knee surgery back on May 27, putting him at almost exactly two months out from the procedure when training camp kicks off. His status is truly uncertain—it was believed to be a clean-up, not a major surgery, but we don't know how he's been recovering—and you may at least seem him limited at the start of Friday's practices.

CB Jalen Collins: He was on the field in June minicamps and looking just fine, so consider this me working out of an abundance of caution. Collins had a nagging foot injury that kept him out of early May workouts and then had minor surgery in mid-May, so if there are any flare ups he may be held back a little bit at the beginning of camp. As far as we know (and hope), though, he'll be good to go.

OG Jon Asamoah: The veteran right guard couldn't practice during June minicamp, but was working with trainers. Right now, we have no indication that his injury will linger into the season, but like Spruill, he may be eased back into practice.

Probable

S William Moore: Arguably linchpin of the secondary, C4 has a long and storied history with injuries, which is a probably caused by a combination of bad luck and his willingness to pour every molecule of his being into his trademark big hits. The good news is that Moore was back on the practice field at the end of June minicamp, and he's had over a month since then to mend. With any luck, he'll be systems go for the first day of training camp tomorrow.

OT Jake Matthews: Matthews made his return to the practice field toward the tail end of minicamp, and should be well-rested and on track to suit up for training camp. The Falcons will be counting on him to have a quality season on the left side of the line, so good health is a must.

C Joe Hawley: He had returned to the practice field in minicamp, and while he did admit he may never be 100% this season, Hawley should be in good enough health to play and play at a high level. We'll see how the coaching staff manages his reps this summer.

RB Tevin Coleman: He suffered a mild groin strain in minicamp, which shouldn't keep him out for training camp.

DE Malliciah Goodman: He was dealing with a knee strain in minicamp, but again, you'd expect him to be out competing tomorrow.

LB Brooks Reed: He was nursing a hamstring injury, but was out on the field in June minicamp. Again, barring a flare-up we didn't learn about, you should expect to see him out there staking out a claim to the starting SOLB job.