James Carpenter out, Julio Jones playing for Falcons vs. Saints

It’s safe to say I came into Sunday bracing for the worst. With Julio Jones and Todd Gurley both missing last week, I feared they would once again be out Sunday against the Saints, given that both have been banged up this year. Happily, I was wrong.

The Falcons will have Jones and Gurley, as well as Dante Fowler Jr. and Kendall Sheffield. Their inactives list this week is the following five players:

• RB Qadree Ollison
• OG James Carpenter
• DT Deadrin Senat
• CB Tyler Hall
• S Jaylinn Hawkins

The loss of Carpenter could be a problem in this one, as he’s been mostly solid enough in 2020 and we don’t know exactly who is going to replace him and how effective that player will be. The Saints have teed off on this offensive line the last couple of matchups, and while that’s at least partially due to Matt Ryan’s hesitation and receivers not getting open quickly, New Orleans is obviously going to test the line early.

Otherwise, there are no surprises. Ollison has been in mothballs most of the year and will have to wait until 2021 for any kind of role in this offense, if he even gets one then. Senat has also barely played this year and remains perhaps the team’s most enigmatic player. The Falcons just have enough cornerback and safety depth at the moment that Hall and Hawkins can sit.

We’ll hope the loss of Carpenter is cancelled out and then some by Julio and Gurley being healthy. Go Falcons!