The Atlanta Falcons lost two starting members of their secondary during Sunday’s 35-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Cornerback A.J. Terrell left the game in the first quarter due to a hamstring injury, and safety Jaylinn Hawkins suffered a concussion in the second half.
Falcons head coach Arthur Smith gave some updates on his banged-up secondary on Monday afternoon. Terrell is considered “week-to-week” and Hawkins has been ruled out for Week 8 as he enters the concussion protocol, per team reporter Tori McElhaney.
Arthur Smith injury update:
Dee Alford (hamstring) day to day
Jaylinn Hawkins is in concussion protocol, will be out this week
Falcons received "decent news" about A.J. Terrell, Smith said he's "week-to-week"— Tori McElhaney (@tori_mcelhaney) October 24, 2022
Atlanta played without both Casey Hayward and Dee Alford during Week 7, but it sounds like Alford is close to returning. Hayward is required to miss at least three more games since he was placed on injured reserve last week.
The Falcons defense got torched by the Bengals on Sunday, allowing 481 passing yards to Joe Burrow. On the offensive side, Atlanta passed for just 124 yards. Fans are getting frustrated with starting QB Marcus Mariota, and some are calling for rookie Desmond Ridder to step in.
Things aren’t going much better for Matt Ryan in Indianapolis, though. The Colts benched Ryan for the remainder of the season on Monday.
Colts’ HC Frank Reich on his team’s QB change: “Right now the move is for Sam to be the starter for the rest of the season.”
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 24, 2022
