Welcome back, folks! The first official Atlanta Falcons practice report for the regular season is here. If you’re new here, every week we bring the practice reports to you, giving you insight into who is or is not practicing, usually due to injuries.
In Week 1 the Falcons will be taking on the Pittsburgh Steelers, and we have a couple of injuries to keep an eye on out of the gate.
Let’s take a look!
Falcons injury report
Full
• QB Michael Penix Jr. (knee)
Limited
• WR Zachariah Branch (hamstring)
• OL Kyle Hinton (knee)
• CB
Billy Bowman Jr. (achilles)
• DL Brandon Dorlus (groin)
• DE Za’Darius Smith (shoulder)
Did Not Practice
• N/A
Steelers injury report
Full
• N/A
Limited
• CB Joey Porter Jr. (back)
Did Not Practice
• N/A
As we look at the Falcons first, there’s a few names to keep an eye on. Rookie receiver Zachariah Branch is limited due to a hamstring injury. He’s expected to factor into the offense and special teams, and hamstrings are tricky injuries. Additionally, the team has a few defensive players who have injuries to keep an eye on. It’s only Wednesday though, so I will say please do not panic. Wednesday’s are often not a strong indicator of who may miss that week’s game. The good news is that quarterback Michael Penix Jr. is practicing fully. It’s already been noted that Tua Tagovailoa will serve as the team’s starter as Penix is slowly brought back in when he’s ready, whenever that is.
You may be looking at the Steelers report wondering if I missed some names, but I can assure you that I didn’t. The Steelers have one of the lightest injury reports I’ve seen in a very long time, as only corner Joey Porter Jr. is listed, who has a back issue.
We will keep an eye on these injuries as we head into Thursday’s practice.
