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The Falcons are banged up at the wide receiver position. Julio Jones is not a lock to play Sunday against the Saints and neither is Olamide Zaccheaus, who had been a valuable reserve until a couple of miscues and an injury took him out of the game against the Raiders. If neither of those guys can go, the Falcons will be incredibly depleted, with only Calvin Ridley showing himself to be consistently capable of drawing targets and making the most of them in this receiving corps.
Unfortunately, we’ve just found out that Olamide Zaccheaus is hitting injured reserve, meaning he’ll be out at least the next there weeks.
That means more targets for Hayden Hurst and maybe Jaeden Graham and Ito Smith, but it also means the Falcons probably need at least one more receiver on the active roster. The recent acquisition of Devin Gray, who joined the practice squad last week, would give the Falcons one candidate. The other is a more veteran name, and the Falcons have activated him to the 53 man roster in Zaccheaus’s stead.
Laquon Treadwell will be activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list today, per source.
— Jason Butt (@JasonHButt) December 1, 2020
A practice squad receiver, Treadwell could be one to watch if injuries at the position progress in the wrong direction this week.
That’s right, Laquon Treadwell is off the reserve/COVID-19 list. It has been easy to forget about Treadwell in 2020 because he was cut, eventually added to the practice squad, and then hit the list without ever joining the active roster and suiting up for a game, but if there was ever a time for him to return and make some kind of impact, this would be it. The veteran has offered little since entering the NFL back in 2016, but is still just 25 years old and has size and some speed. If Julio’s also out Treadwell could have a substantial role against the Saints, but I would fully anticipate he’ll get some run in place of Zaccheaus.
Either way, welcome him back.