Chris Lindstrom, a Falcons first-round draft pick who suffered a broken foot in the season opener, will be activated and will start against the Panthers at 1 p.m. Sunday Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“I think he had a good week,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “You always want to look at his conditioning and where he is at. ... He’s definitely ready to play to go. He’s not going to play every play, but he’s going to get his snaps in for sure.”
Lindstrom, who suffered a broken fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot, returned to practice Monday for his 21-day rehab period.
“It’s really amazing, your dream is to come to the NFL,” Lindstrom said. “I’m ready to go out there and compete Sunday. I’m really looking forward to it.”
In addition to getting Lindstrom back, wide receiver Julio Jones (shoulder) and tight end Austin Hooper (knee) are also set to return from injury. Jones didn’t play in the Falcons’ previous game, against the Saints on Thanksgiving night, and Hooper has missed the past three games.
Offensive tackle-guard Ty Sambrailo (hamstring) and starting left guard James Carpenter (concussion) were ruled out. Defensive end Allen Bailey, who earlier missed time for personal reasons, will be available to play.
Lindstrom was the 14th player taken in the 2019 NFL Draft, out of Boston College.
The Falcons have struggled to replace him while he was on injured reserve with a designation to return.
Free-agent signee Jamon Brown first took over, but Wes Schweitzer has moved past him on the most recent depth chart.
The Falcons have given up 40 sacks and 100 quarterbacks, while failing to protect quarterback Matt Ryan.
The offensive line collapsed against the Saints. The Falcons couldn’t run the ball and gave up nine sacks and 13 quarterback hits in a 26-18 loss. The formula to run the ball to set up the play-action passing attack has not worked consistently this season.
The franchise hopes that Lindstrom can help to stabilize the interior of the passing pocket and lift the sagging rushing attack.
“As soon as it happened, I turned to Ty and said I broke my foot,” Lindstrom said. “He kind of looked at me.
“Things come up. I just tried to play through it and thought that eventually it would go away after a couple of plays, but it didn’t.”
Center Alex Mack, linebacker Deion Jones, and Ryan, a fellow Boston College graduate, helped Lindstrom through the injury.
“Alex was taking care of me throughout the process with what questions to ask,” Lindstrom said. “How to get back.”
Ryan would chat with Lindstrom daily.
“Matt’s a great team leader,” Lindstrom said. “It was great being able to interact with him all the time. He’s really awesome. There’s not a better teammate than him.”
Linebacker Deion Jones suffered the same injury in the 2018 season opener against the Eagles. He made it back to play the final five games last season.
“Also, (Deion Jones) has been amazing,” Lindstrom said. “He did the same thing last year. He checked on me every single day. He gave me tips on things to do. I’m really thankful for him. He’s been such a great influence.”
Also, offensive lineman Matt Gono will see some action against the Panthers.
“I’m going to be rotating on Sunday,” Gono said. “I’m definitely looking forward to playing. I was expecting to play a lot earlier, but I’m definitely looking forward to getting out there after my (back) injury. I’m definitely looking forward to it.”
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