Falcons open window for AJ Terrell to return from IR
FLOWERY BRANCH — The Falcons are opening the window for cornerback AJ Terrell to be activated from injured reserve, and he’ll return to practice Wednesday, coach Kevin Stefanski announced in his news conference.
Terrell, who’s been on injured reserve since Sept. 22 because of a groin injury, has missed the past four games. He’s eligible to play in the Falcons’ Week 7 bout with the 49ers at 1 p.m. Sunday inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but Stefanski didn’t commit to Terrell playing.
“Well, I want to see how he does,” Stefanski said Wednesday. “I don’t think it’s fair yet to say on any of these players as they come back and just start practicing. So, we’ll see how he does.”
Stefanski foreshadowed the move in recent days, saying Terrell was “doing very well” and trending in the right direction for activation.
The 28-year-old Terrell, who’s started all 95 career appearances since entering the league as a first-round pick in 2020, provides a significant boost to the Falcons’ secondary.
“AJ is obviously world-class,” Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said earlier this season. “And, in my opinion, the best boundary corner in the NFL.”
The Falcons hope to get back cornerback CJ Henderson, who replaced Terrell in the starting lineup for three games before suffering a groin injury in Week 5. Stefanski said Henderson will get “some work” done Wednesday and the team will evaluate him thereafter.
Linebackers Divine Deablo (arm) and Kendal Daniels (neck) are both trending in the right direction, but Stefanski wants to monitor them at practice before committing to either playing in Week 7.
“We’ll just see how they do throughout the week,” Stefanski said. “Not really ruling anybody in or out at this point, up and down the roster.”
And that includes Terrell.
“AJ’s a great player for this football team,” Stefanski said. “So, we’ll see how it goes.”