Jamon Brown and Matt Bosher out, Alex Mack in for Falcons - Texans

The Falcons would, if they were totally healthy, still have plenty of questions heading into this pivotal Week 5 matchup against the Texans. Unfortunately, they are not totally healthy.

Atlanta’s going to be down three players on Sunday, with right guard Jamon Brown, kick/punt returner Kenjon Barner, and reserve cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson all sitting this one out.

UPDATE: Matt Bosher is also out, and may have aggravated his existing injury today in practice, since he was a late addition to the report. The Falcons will have to bring back a punter, likely Matt Wile, which means a roster move is coming.

The most impactful loss is obviously Jamon Brown, who outside of a handful of penalties has filled in pretty admirably at right guard. He’s had trouble staying healthy thus farm but when he was on the field he was at least consistent, which is something the Falcons have desperately needed on this line. Without him, it’ll be Wes Schweitzer’s show at right guard again, with the veteran now filling in along the line in all but one game this season. Schweitzer’s been solid in his work thus far in 2019, but obviously this is an extremely tough assignment, and the general state of the offensive line is not great.

Fortunately, Alex Mack is going to play, but it is fair to wonder whether he’ll be at 100%. There isn’t a member of this offensive line who doesn’t have health concerns or struggles in 2019, so we’re just going to have to hope for the best they can give us.

The loss of Barner for the second straight week is less consequential but does impact the return game. Kendall Sheffield will likely take kicks again after filling in just fine there, while Mohamed Sanu is the leading candidate for punts. They’re both downgrades from Barner, who has been solid this season, but hopefully that downgrade doesn’t lead to any bad situations. It didn’t last week—outside of Sanu getting dropped quickly on his only punt return—though the whole game was basically a bad situation.

Finally, the loss of Blidi Wreh-Wilson is minimally impactful given his small role on defense, but it’s not ideal. Wreh-Wilson’s spot on the active roster will be taken by Jordan Miller, who will be up and have an opportunity to play for the first time. Kendall Sheffield remains the fourth cornerback on this roster.

Buckle up for Sunday, everyone.