Atlanta Falcons WR Harry Douglas | Photo: Jimmy Cribb, AtlantaFalcons.com
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. –The opening game of the Atlanta Falcons preseason did not go as smoothly as planned in regards to keeping everyone healthy. Multiple players left the game with injuries, one—fullback Bradie Ewing—now out for the remainder of the year.
Here are some players who you should keep an eye on heading into Thursday night’s matchup:
- Assuming everything goes as planned, Harry Douglas will be in action against Cincinnati. He missed the opener against the Ravens after suffering an rib injury in last week’s practice with the Tennessee Titans, but fans should get their first look at Douglas Thursday night. Matt Ryan threw 12 of his 13 passes to Julio Jones and Roddy White against Baltimore. It will be interesting to see how many targets Douglas gets, as Kerry Meier, who played the role of the No. 3 receiver in the first game, didn’t see any balls tossed his way.
- “Michael Calvin is still not back. He is still dealing with his leg issue,” said Mike Smith at practice on Monday. Calvin planned on competing for the final receiver spot on the depth chart, but it’s not looking like he’ll have much a chance yet.
- “We got Vance Walker back fully participating,” said Smith. The Falcons are already missing Corey Peters at defensive tackle, so getting Walker back and keeping him healthy will help. No word has been given, though, on whether he will play this week.
- Don’t expect to see Louis Nzegwu in action. “Louis has a leg injury and will not participate in the game. It looks like we have to hold him out and get him ready for next week against the Dolphins,” said Smith.
- Akeem Dent is recovering well, but he will not see any action against the Bengals. “He will definitely not play on Thursday. He is feeling a lot better. He participated in meetings, we just haven’t had him back on the field yet,” said Smith.
