Bengals vs. Falcons: Takk McKinley is IN, Devonta Freeman and others are OUT

The Atlanta Falcons have been on the wrong side of injuries for the entire season, but we finally have some good news. Takkarist McKinley will play Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals!

Dan Quinn announced some injury news today, and for the first time in a long time, it isn’t all bad.

Yeah, buddy! We guessed this would be the case as Takk practiced on Tuesday. That suggested he was pretty likely to play. Atlanta’s secondary was picked apart by Drew Brees on Sunday, in part because of Jordan Richards and Brian Poole, but Atlanta put very little pressure on Brees. Takk’s return should make for a huge improvement.

Now, who is out?

Special teams ace Justin Bethel, defensive end Derrick Shelby, and running back Devonta Freeman were not expected to play as none have gotten in a full practice this week. It appears Shelby and Freeman may be getting closer, as they’ve been in walkthroughs. Tevin Coleman and Ito Smith have held down the running back spot without Freeman, but Atlanta is still struggling a bit to consistently run the ball. Shelby’s injury will likely mean Steven Means gets a good handful of snaps, but Atlanta doesn’t have a good run-stuffing end left on the roster to fill his spot.