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The villain of hawks loss of season opening the Eagles was somehow even lousier five days later. Having already lost the safety of the Keanu Neal Pro Bowl to a knee injury at the end of the season That was supported during the match, the Falcons placed Pro Bowl Deion Jones linebacker on the injured list Tuesday with a foot injury that will require intervention.
That's the bad news. The good news is that the Falcons think Jones will come back later this season.
"After last Thursday's game, Deion reported a foot pain, so we sent him for further tests," said Dan Quinn, Falcons coach, on the website. of the team. "We got the results of these tests today, and unfortunately we will have to have a procedure that will force us to put him on the list of injured." We are disappointed with Deion, but we expect him to recover at some point This season is everything we are looking for in a Falcon player, and even though he will not be on the field for the moment, he will continue to be present in our building. "
Before it can be activated, Jones must spend at least eight weeks.
Jones, a second round pick in 2016, has become one of the best linebackers in the game. After Thursday's game, where he intercepted an interception, he has now racked up seven picks and 170 tackles in 32 career games . According to Pro Football Focus, he was the league's best linebacker compared to the previous season.
Vaughn McClure, who covers the ESPN team, assumed Duke Riley could take Jones' place. The Falcons also signed Corey Nelson on Tuesday. Riley started six games with the Falcons last year and has participated in 12 games in total, during which he has recorded 12 solo tackles, while Nelson has spent the last four seasons in Denver, where he has recorded 62 tackles in 53 games. He spent the summer with the Eagles, but was released before the season.
The truth is that there is not really a linebacker that the Falcons can pick up to fill the void left by Jones. It's the quality of a player that he is. And his absence will hurt the Falcons' chances of qualifying for the playoffs in a hotly contested NFC playoff series.
That being said, it should be noted that Neal's perfect replacement, which will not be back this season, is available on the open market. Eric Reid, a departure security template that filed a grievance of collusion against the NFL, would be able to fill Neal's place if the Falcons want to bring in someone from outside the building.
The Falcons will host the Panthers in Week 2. If they lose, they will already fall two games behind the Panthers in the South of the NFC.
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