The Atlanta Falcons will clash against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday in an NFC South rivalry. Atlanta is currently 3-7 and 3rd in the division, while New Orleans is 2-8 and last. The Falcons have dealt with a lot of injuries this season in all phases of the game, like quarterback Michael Penix Jr. tearing his ACL in last week’s game against the Carolina Panthers.
Wide receiver Drake London was also injured in that contest, suffering a PCL Sprain, and he has been ruled out of the game against the Saints. To make matters worse, a secondary that’s dealt with injuries a good part of the season is dealing with one again.
Billy Bowman Jr. Has Been Added to the Injury List
It was reported by Tori McElhaney of the official team site that head coach Raheem Morris ruled defensive back Billy Bowman Jr. out of Sunday’s game vs. New Orleans due to an Achilles injury that was sustained during Friday’s walk-through practice.
Morris had said that the injury was “not good”, which could mean that it has the potential to be worse than initially thought, given that Bowman will not play this week. Bowman did not participate in the practice after the walkthroughs.
Bowman has sustained a few injuries this season, including a hamstring injury that occurred earlier in the year, which caused him to miss three games. He’s been listed on the injury report quite a bit with shoulder and hamstring.
Bowman is a physical defensive back who does well against the run and knows where to be in coverage. Without him, the secondary will be missing a part of the defense as a whole.
In six games played this season, Bowman has accumulated 15 total tackles and one interception. Other members of the Falcons’ secondary were listed on the injury report as well, such as cornerback Dee Alford with a concussion, Mike Hughes with a neck injury, and safety Xavier Watts with an illness. But they were full participants for Friday’s practice.
PFSN has the Falcons at a 71.8 Defensive Impact Score, which ranks 19th on the season.
Friday, Nov. 21 — Injury report
Full participation
- ILB Divine Deablo (forearm)
- CB Dee Alford (concussion)
- CB Mike Hughes (neck)
- S Xavier Watts (illness)
- ILB Malik Verdon (shoulder)
- DL Brandon Dorlus (oblique)
- G Matthew Bergeron (ankle)
Limited participation
- ILB Kaden Elliss (not injury related – resting)
- G Chris Lindstrom (foot)
- T Jake Matthews (not injury related – resting)
Did not participate
- S Jessie Bates (not injury related – personal matter)
- WR Drake London (knee)
- CB Billy Bowman Jr. (Achilles)
- ILB Josh Woods (hamstring)
- LS Liam McCullough (not injury related – personal matter)
- EDGE Leonard Floyd (hamstring)
- DL David Onyemata (not injury related – resting)
- DL Zach Harrison (knee)
