Falcons cornerback Asante Samuel started his career as a member of the Patriots, but he won’t be in the lineup to renew acquaintances with any former teammates on Sunday night.
Samuel is inactive with a thigh injury that left him with a questionable designation on the final injury report of the week. That will leave rookies Robert Alford and Desmond Trufant to square off with the Patriots’ corps of rookie receivers during the contest.
Safety Kemal Ishmael, running back Steven Jackson, linebacker Jamar Chaney, guard Harland Gunn, tackle Ryan Schraeder and defensive tackle Travian Robertson are the other inactives for the home team.
The Patriots will have right tackle Sebastian Vollmer after he was limited in practice by a foot injury this week. As previously announced, they won’t have tight end Rob Gronkowski or wide receiver Danny Amendola.
The other inactive Patriots players are linebacker Steve Beauharnais, wide receiver Matthew Slater, defensive end Jake Bequette, offensive lineman Chris Barker and running back Leon Washington.