The Falcons’ thin depth at offensive tackle took another hit when the team placed veteran Mike Johnson on season-ending injured reserve on Sunday.
Johnson suffered what the team said was a foot injury during the first possession of the exhibition game against the Titans on Saturday night at the Georgia Dome. Johnson, selected by the Falcons in the third round of the 2010 draft out of Alabama, also missed the 2013 season after suffering a broken fibula and dislocated left ankle during training camp.
The Falcons already lost starting left tackle Sam Baker to a season-ending knee injury on Aug. 16. That prompted the Falcons to move rookie Jake Matthews, the No. 6 overall pick in the draft, from right to left tackle and have Johnson and Lamar Holmes compete to start at right tackle.
Johnson’s injury makes it likely Holmes will open the season as the starting right tackle. Holmes struggled in 2013 while starting 12 games at left tackle in place of Baker and three games at right tackle.
The other tackles on the roster are Pat McQuistan, Gabe Carimi, Ryan Schraeder and Terren Jones.
The Falcons signed McQuistan last week after they placed Baker on injured reserve. The Cowboys drafted McQuistan in the seventh round of the 2006 draft and he’s played 72 career games, including 11 starts, with the Cowboys, Dolphins, Saints and Cardinals.
Carimi has primarily practiced at guard for the Falcons while also taking reps at right tackle. He was a first-round pick for the Bears in 2011 but struggled at both tackle spots before being moved to guard. Carimi played in 14 games with three starts for Tampa Bay in 2013.
The Falcons signed Schraeder as a free agent after he wasn’t selected in the 2013 draft out of Division II Valdosta State. Schraeder played in 13 games with four starts as a rookie.
Jones was on the Falcons’ practice squad for most of 2013. He was signed to the 53-man roster in November but did not play in any games.
Johnson was injured on Saturday while blocking as the tight end in the “jumbo” short-yardage formation during the Falcons’ opening possession of the game. Schraeder replaced Johnson in that role.
Johnson opened 2013 training camp as the starting right tackle but suffered the season-ending injury during practice. Holmes, a third-round draft by the Falcons in 2012, took Johnson’s place in the lineup at right tackle and then moved to left tackle when Baker was injured.
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