Cornerback Darqueze Dennard, who suffered a hamstring injury late in the 30-26 loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday, was placed on the reserve/injured list Tuesday.
“He had a really good game the last game," Falcons’ secondary/defensive pass game coordinator Joe Whitt said on Tuesday. "It’s unfortunate that he got hurt. He played like a warrior through out the game. He’s brought leadership. He brought a guy that’s very accountable. Looking forward to getting him back once he gets healthy. He’s been a pleasant addition to the group.”
The Falcons are without two of their top three cornerbacks in Dennard and rookie A.J. Terrell, who was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday. With Terrell out, Dennard started at left cornerback and Blidi Wreh-Wilson, the fourth cornerback, started at the nickel back position.
Right cornerback Isaiah Oliver has started all three games and now is the top cornerback on the roster. The Falcons did get back Jordan Miller from the suspended list Monday.
The Falcons, who’ll have a patchwork secondary, when they face quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, the highest scoring team in the NFL, at 8:15 p.m. Monday at Lambeau Field.
“We talk about the whole room being prepared,” Whitt said. “This is the NFL. Everybody has to be ready. We are not paid to go out there and play well. We’re paid to go win.”
Whitt coached with the Packers in the 2008-18 seasons.
“I was with Aaron for 11 years,” Whitt said. "I know what type of quarterback that he is. Their offense is rolling. Watching the film of them, they are as good as any offense in the league. It’s going to take everybody. It’s going to take the guys up front, giving a little extra rush.
“It’s going to take us to make sure that we hold our coverage on the backside to give those guys (time) to rush. When we have opportunity to make plays -- which we had a couple of opportunities in this last game and we dropped them -- we have to make those plays to win games like this coming up on Monday night.”
Wreh-Wilson has started at left cornerback. Oliver likely will play at right, and Miller would be an option at nickel back.
The Falcons signed defensive end Austin Edwards to the practice squad and released veteran linebacker Deone Bucannon and cornerback D.J. White from the practice squad.
Dennard, a former first-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals, has made 16 tackles, one interception and one tackle for loss in three games this season.
Edwards spent training camp with the Falcons and the first to weeks on the practice squad. White played at Georgia Tech.
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