Falcons tight end Austin Hooper appeared to suffer a medial collateral ligament strain and could miss some playing time, according by Dr. David Chao, who spent 17 years in the NFL as a team doctor.
“That’s what it looked like,” Chao told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday. “I’d be surprised if he got his ACL as well. I think he’s going to miss time. I don’t think he’s going on (injured reserve). I think he’s going to miss time. I think he has a chance to play in November based on video.”
Hooper and running back Devonta Freeman (foot) were set to have MRI tests. The results were likely favorable, because Dan Quinn is holding out hope they’ll be ready to play at Carolina
“I’ll have a better answer for you as we toward the end of the week,” Quinn said. “Hopefully, these are things that won’t last a long time. But I’ll have a better sense as the week goes. We are not going to rule them out until we have a better sense of what their week will look like.”
The Falcons are hoping to get cornerback Desmond Trufant (turf toe) back this week. He has missed four games.
“He wasn’t quite just there yet,” Quinn said. “To play on the outside and use his speed that he has, he still has some soreness and he wasn’t ready to go all the way there. We’re hopeful. He got close and now we can really push it to see if he can get there this week. He wanted to go, but we need him for the whole thing. I think he’s getting close.”
Falcons offensive guard Chris Lindstrom is not ready to return from his broken foot, but has served his eight games.
“You’ll know that he’s getting close when we activate him off the return list,” Quinn said. “Until then, we don’t have any work that we can do on the side or anything special there. We can hold on that until. He’s doing fantastic. Once you know he’s going to get cleared to start participating, you’ll know that he’s getting close.”
The Falcons will have a 21-day window once Lindstrom is activated.
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