Desmond Trufant still in concussion protocol, Brian Poole limited Thursday

The Falcons still look like they’ll be without Desmond Trufant Sunday, as he remained in the league’s concussion protocol on Thursday. The chances of him clearing that protocol and getting on the field Sunday would seem to be exceedingly slim, so you should continue to expect that Atlanta will be without him for one week. Them’s, as they say, the breaks.

Fortunately, fellow injured cornerback Brian Poole seems to be on track to return. Poole didn’t practice Wednesday but returned to a limited practice on Thursday, and so long as he has at least a limited practice tomorrow, I’ll feel good about his chances of suiting up. If the Falcons have to stop this Vikings offense minus Trufant and Poole—with a cornerback corps that would consistent of Robert Alford, C.J. Goodwin, Blidi Wreh-Wilson, and maybe Ricardo Allen—things will get awfully hairy.

This will be one of the toughest matchups of the year, so even going without Trufant is going to hurt significantly. We’ll hope whoever is out there is ready to play the game of their lives to get the Falcons to 8-4 and ready to make that final playoff push against the NFC South.