Tight end Tony Gonzalez barely practiced for the Falcons last week because of a toe injury, but he went on to suit up and play in the loss to the Buccaneers.
That shouldn’t come as much of a surprise since Gonzalez has missed two games over the course of his career. It should also come as no surprise, then, that Gonzalez looks set to play against the Saints on Thursday night.
Gonzalez was at practice for the Falcons on Wednesday after missing Tuesday’s session to rest his toe and said afterward, via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, that the Falcons weren’t quitting on the season despite winning just two of their first 10 games. You wouldn’t expect to hear a player say otherwise, of course, but Gonzalez’s choice to say it indicates he’ll be on the field.
Assuming Gonzalez plays, he’ll be trying to extend his streak of consecutive games with a catch to 206. Those individual milestones may be all that Gonzalez has left to play for, but it appears that it will take a more serious injury for him to stop playing for them.