The Atlanta Falcons didn’t have much incentive to play their starters in the second half of Sunday’s 43-3 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, but it sounds as if running back Cordarrelle Patterson’s injury may be more serious than we thought.
As reported by NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Patterson’s sprained ankle is still being evaluated but doesn’t look good for Thursday’s game against the New England Patriots.
#Falcons RB Cordarrelle Patterson is still having his sprained ankle evaluated, but it doesn’t sound optimistic for Thursday night against the #Patriots, per source. Could be a couple weeks for one of this season’s most electric players.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 15, 2021
Falcons head coach Arthur Smith talked about Patterson Monday afternoon and was somewhat vague about his star running back’s injury status. Smith said Patterson’s second-half absence was similar to that of Matt Ryan’s in that the game was already over essentially, per ESPN’s Michael Rothstein.
Falcons HC Arthur Smith said Cordarrelle Patterson didn't play 2H for the same reasons he didn't play Matt Ryan in the fourth quarter — have a game Thursday, game was what it was.
When I asked if Patterson was injured, Smith said a lot of guys are nicked up. It's midseason.
— Michael Rothstein (@mikerothstein) November 15, 2021
Here’s what Smith said — Falcons did not announce an injury for Patterson in-game https://t.co/HTMEGaMKvb pic.twitter.com/EC2jErT0nq
— Michael Rothstein (@mikerothstein) November 15, 2021
Smith has been notoriously quiet about injuries so we’ll see if Patterson participates at all in practice this week.
