Falcons injury report: Julio Jones, three others not practicing on Wednesday

Although the Atlanta Falcons lost last Sunday to the New Orleans Saints, and what little hope of making the playoffs disappeared, there’s still games to be played. Last week, the key missing player was left guard James Carpenter who was ruled out with a groin injury.

The team released its official practice report for Wednesday, giving us insight into where certain players stand health-wise.

FULL PARTICIPATION

• N/A

LIMITED PARTICIPATION

• RB Todd Gurley (knee)
• S Keanu Neal (ankle)
• DE Dante Fowler (hamstring)
• RB Ito Smith (neck)
• LB Foye Oluokun (neck)
• TE Hayden Hurst (ankle)
• DE Jacob Tuioti-Mariner (neck)
• DT Grady Jarrett (groin)

NO PARTICIPATION

• P Sterling Hofrichter (right hamstring)
• WR Julio Jones (hamstring)
• S Ricardo Allen (concussion)
• G James Carpenter (groin)

As you can see above, there were a lot of Falcons limited on Wednesday as the team prepares to go on the road to face the Los Angeles Chargers. One of the more concerning injuries on the practice report is safety Ricardo Allen, who is dealing with a concussion. These type of injuries are difficult to predict a timeline for, and all we can do is hope for a full recovery sooner than later. It seems doubtful that Allen will play this weekend, meaning Sharrod Neasman would potentially replace him.

For the first time this season, punter Sterling Hofrichter has popped up on the practice report, as he deals with a right hamstring injury. The team doesn’t have a reserve punter on the practice squad, so we’ll monitor the situation and get a better idea if the Falcons sign a punter over the next few days.

James Carpenter did not play a week ago and was replaced by Justin McCray in the starting lineup, while Julio did play but has been dealing with injuries on and off all season. We’ll hope both are ready to go by Sunday.