Desmond Trufant on track to return Thursday night against the Saints

The Falcons did admirable work against the Vikings without Desmond Trufant and Brian Poole, but that was against a team that essentially has two terrific receivers, a decent tight end, and a solid ground game to work with. The Saints, who are up on Thursday night, offer up lethal receivers, the game’s most explosive ground game, and...well, tight end is kind of weak. My point here is simply that the Falcons need Trufant more against New Orleans.

So it is with a great but cautious joy that I report that Trufant is back to practicing, which would appear to put him on track to play against the Saints, barring any setbacks. His return would be a huge boost for a defense that is absolutely going to have its work cut out for it, given the talent on display for New Orleans.

We’ll have to wait and see if Poole is set to return, but if he’s not, the Falcons will probably use some combination of Ricardo Allen and Blidi Wreh-Wilson at nickel cornerback after both fared well against the Vikings. It wouldn’t be an ideal situation, but frankly, Trufant’s return gives me more confidence than perhaps is warranted for the matchup all on its own.