Falcons left tackle Jake Matthews is unlikely to play at Cincinnati on Sunday after he missed practice for a second straight day.
Matthews suffered an ankle injury on Sunday against the Saints and did not participate in practice on Wednesday or Thursday. The Falcons have a final practice scheduled on Friday in preparation for the Bengals but there are no indications that Matthews will participate.
The Falcons will update Matthews’ status when they release the league-mandated injury report on Friday.
“We will have a lot more clarity tomorrow,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said Thursday.
The Falcons selected Matthews was the No. 6 overall pick in the May draft out of Texas A&M. He began training camp as the starter at right tackle, then moved to left tackle when Sam Baker suffered a season-ending injury during the second exhibition game.
Veteran Gabe Carimi replaced Matthews during the Saints game. He was called for three penalties and allowed four pressures against Ryan in 41 drop backs. During training camp Carimi practiced primarily at guard with some reps at right tackle.
The Bears selected Carimi in the first round of the 2011 draft to play tackle but he struggled at both tackle spots before eventually being moved to guard. Carimi played in 14 games with three starts for Tampa Bay in 2013.
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