Depleted Falcons secondary could be down 3 starters Sunday
Safety Jaylinn Hawkins, who suffered a concussion Sunday against Cincinnati, is in the league’s protocol and Atlanta has already ruled him out against the Panthers. Starting cornerback A.J. Terrell, who left on the eighth play of Sunday’s 35-17 loss because of a hamstring injury, is now week-to-week, according to head coach Arthur Smith.
Smith said the Falcons got “decent news” on Terrell, who was immediately ruled out of Sunday’s game against Cincinnati and had also left the team’s Week 6 win over San Francisco with a thigh/hamstring injury, but did not seem definitive on a potential return for the team’s No. 1 corner.
This all comes on top of Atlanta losing its other Week 1 starting cornerback, Casey Hayward, in the 49ers game to a shoulder injury. Hayward was placed on injured reserve, and the injury will require surgery to repair.
One of the Falcons’ top depth players in the secondary, Dee Alford, is day-to-day after missing last week’s practice and game because of a hamstring injury.
“It’s our job to find solutions. Everybody is dealing with something around the league,” Smith said. “And we got to find solutions.”
Last Sunday, the Falcons primarily played Darren Hall — the team’s top reserve cornerback — and practice squad call-up Cornell Armstrong on the outside and Isaiah Oliver, who had suffered an ACL injury when he was the starting nickel in 2021, in the slot.
Atlanta’s depth at corner on the 53-man roster also includes Mike Ford, Armstrong, rookie Matt Hankins and second-year pro Dylan Mabin on the practice squad.
At safety, the Falcons could slide either Dean Marlowe or Erik Harris — both long-term veterans — into Hawkins’ spot next to Richie Grant. After Hawkins was hurt Sunday, Marlowe took his place in the lineup.
Smith didn’t rule out bringing in a player from the outside as well — the team does have an open roster spot after putting receiver Jared Bernhardt on injured reserve Saturday — but also said he believes in the players the Falcons have developed on the roster.