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Players have arrived at camp, but there’s been some bad news on that front for the Falcons. More on that and other news and notes in Thursday’s edition of Falcoholinks.
More players placed on COVID-19 list
Given the current state of the world and attempting to host a season amid a pandemic, this is not unexpected at all: Two more Atlanta Falcons have been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Fullback Keith Smith and safety Jamal Carter will be absent from camp until two negative tests are confirmed.
In the case of Carter: While he is asymptomatic, he has indeed tested positive for COVID-19.
It was announced that rookie safety Jaylinn Hawkins also tested positive yesterday, so that makes three Falcons sidelined for a bit.
High praise for the rook
Falcons rookie corner A.J. Terrell is slated to suit up as one of the Falcons’ outside starting cornerbacks, and he recently received some plaudits from Atlanta new defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.
Morris praised Terrell’s attention to detail during the virtual offseason program, and is ... ahem ... fired up for his potential on the Falcons defense this season.
Player profiles
Chris Lindstrom enters his second year in the NFL as one of the pivotal pieces on Atlanta’s offensive line. Our Kevin Knight continues his “Player profiles” series by taking a look at what the young guard brings to the table, and how he can impact the line in 2020.
SNUBS
The NFL is bad at a lot of stuff — I mean, it once banned touchdown celebrations. So among the litany of things that the league is abjectly terrible at, rankings seem pretty minor — but they’re annoying, nonetheless.
NFL Network released its Top 100 players rankings, and Matt Ryan was nowhere to be found. Julio Jones and Todd Gurley both cracked the list, but the 2016 NFL MVP was snubbed entirely.
Important players in 2020
Our Adnan Ikic has been counting down his list of the most important players on each side of the ball in 2020, and he’s now focusing on the defense. This pass-rusher landed at #5, and it’s safe to say that it’s his most important year in the NFL.