Falcons offensive guard Jamon Brown has missed the past three practices due to an illness that is not related to COVID-19, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
Brown’s sickness is considered mild. He was not spotted at either of Thursday and Saturday’s practices, which reporters were allowed to attend.
Brown is one of four offensive guards in contention to start at left guard this upcoming season for the Falcons. Although Brown began the 2019 season as a healthy scratch in the season opener against the Vikings, he stepped into a starting role after right guard Chris Lindstrom suffered a broken toe. Brown started nine of the 10 games he appeared in last season.
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Brown, however, did not appear in any of the final four games of the 2019 season.
Brown was one of two acquisitions the team made during the 2019 offseason to help bolster the depth of the offensive line. Brown signed a three-year contract worth $18.75 million. The other 2019 offensive line free agent addition was James Carpenter, who started 12 games for the Falcons a season ago.
This year, the lone open position on the offensive line is at left guard, where Brown, Carpenter and Matt Gono and Matt Hennessy are competing. The early plan during the altered training camp is to rotate the four linemen with the first team at the position.
The offensive line will look to fix the problems that plagued the group a season ago. In 2019, Atlanta ranked 28th in the NFL in sacks allowed at 50, with Matt Ryan taking 48 of them. The Falcons also ranked 30th in the league by accounting for only 85.1 rushing yards per game. Atlanta is returning six linemen who started games up front in 2019 -- Brown, Lindstrom, Carpenter, Jake Matthews, Alex Mack and Kaleb McGary -- and will hope to see the necessary improvements this season.
At the conclusion of the 2019 season, general manager Thomas Dimitroff said he was happy with where things were heading with the offensive line.
“In my mind, there’s no question we’re in a better spot,” Dimitroff said. “I love where we are with our developing young guys, and those guys got some serious reps right away. They’re tough dudes who work hard, who are really driven. That’s a great thing for us, paired up alongside of Alex Mack, who obviously has a ton of experience. Love what’s going on with Jake. Jake continues to grow and get better and better. The left guard is going to be a competitive spot.”
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