FALCONS REPORT: White misses practice again as bruised back gets treated

Flowery Branch —- Falcons wide receiver Roddy White received treatment for a deep back bruise Thursday and didn’t practice for the second consecutive day.

“I just fell on it,” White said. “I’ve got a little bruise back there. I just want to make sure that I’m ready to go on Sunday.”

White is the Falcons’ leading receiver with 58 catches for 903 yards and six touchdowns. He’s expected to return to practice today.

“He’s had two days of mental reps,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “We anticipate tomorrow that he’ll get some physical reps.”

In addition to White, left tackle Sam Baker (back and hip), defensive tackle Kindal Moorehead (foot) and wide receiver Laurent Robinson (hamstring) did not practice.

Defensive end John Abraham (neck), kicker Jason Elam (left hip), wide receiver Brian Finneran (hamstring), defensive tackle Grady Jackson (knee) and left tackle Todd Weiner (knee) were limited.

Cornerback Brent Grimes (knee and ankle), tight end Ben Hartsock (back), cornerback Chris Houston (rib) and running back Jerious Norwood (rib) were on the injury report but participated fully in practice.

Offensive tackle out for season

The Falcons placed offensive tackle Renardo Foster, who is recovering from major knee surgery, on the reserve-physically unable to perform list, meaning he is out for the rest of the season.

The Falcons had 21 days to make a decision after Foster returned to practice Oct. 28.

Foster (6 feet 7, 340 pounds) made the team as an undrafted rookie free agent last season. He started two games and played in seven.

Seahawks claim Miller off waivers

The Falcons were hoping to re-sign defensive end Brandon Miller to the practice squad, but he was claimed off waivers by Seattle on Wednesday.

Defensive end Willie Evans, who spent training camp with the Falcons, was added to the practice squad.

Seattle wanted Miller to take former Falcon Patrick Kerney’s spot on the roster. Kerney was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury.

Panthers game will be on local TV

Sunday’s game against Carolina is sold out and will be televised locally, according to the team.

The NFL moved the Falcons-Panthers game to a 4:15 p.m. start to be part of Fox’s national doubleheader.

The game was originally scheduled as a 1 p.m. kickoff.

Last week’s game was announced as a sellout, but because of an input error an improper attendance was listed on the official gamebook. The attendance for the Denver game was 64,358, according to the team.

Ex-Dog Davis finds home at Carolina

Former Georgia Bulldogs standout Thomas Davis appears to have found a home at weakside linebacker for Carolina.

Since Davis was selected with the 14th pick of the 2005 draft, he has bounced from the secondary to the linebacker corps. He has 89 tackles and 1.5 sacks this season.

“I’ve seen him get better every year,” Carolina coach John Fox said. “He’s definitely having a good season. He’s a real explosive player.”