Takk McKinley’s active but Deadrin Senat is not against Lions

The Falcons haven’t had a lot of great injury-and-COVID-related news of late, so I’m happy to be able to share a rare bit of it.

The Falcons not only will have Julio Jones back and ready to go again, but they’ll also get top pass rusher Takk McKinley back. Takk has been easily the team’s most fearsome-seeming defensive end when he’s been on the field, but unfortunately he hasn’t been healthy all that often in 2020. If he’s able to play his usual full complement of snaps, the defense should benefit quite a bit.

The inactives list include one injured Falcon and several familiar faces.

Hawkins will hopefully be back in the relatively near future to help out a thinned-out safety corps, as he could be a prominent part of the future at a position that might see Damontae Kazee, Keanu Neal and Sharrod Neasman leaving in the offseason. Miller will remain in mothballs while the rest of the cornerback group is healthy, Ollison hasn’t been able to get on the actives list with a healthy Todd Gurley and Brian Hill, Wetzel is consistently inactive as the last man on the offensive line, and Senat is a player the Falcons appear to have no real plans for whatsoever. No surprises on this list.

As a reminder, the Falcons have Edmond Robinson and Austin Edwards up to help with depth at linebacker and defensive end, respectively. Let’s see how they fare against the Lions today.