The Falcons have a bye next week, and it comes at a fortuitous time.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, star wide receiver Julio Jones isn’t expected to miss any additional time after he was unable to finish yesterday’s loss to the Bills with a hip flexor injury.
Jones tried to come back yesterday, but coach Dan Quinn said he lacked his normal explosiveness so they decided to hold him back.
“He had trouble just exploding, and if he can’t be him, that’s a unique thing for him,” Quinn said. “The speed, the explosiveness — so when he wasn’t able to do that, that’s when we had to pull him. He definitely wanted to go.”
The Falcons were without both Jones and fellow wideout Mohamed Sanu in the second half of their loss to the Bills, and their absence was evident as the Falcons tried to drive late without their top two targets.
But with the extra week off, the Falcons are hoping to get some guys back when they resume against the Dolphins in Week Six. They were already playing without sack leader Vic Beasley (hamstring), along with right tackle Ryan Schraeder (concussion), safety Ricardo Allen (concussion), and defensive end Courtney Upshaw (ankle/knee).