Falcons coach Dan Quinn said running back Devonta Freeman is part of the league-mandated concussion protocol, putting his status in doubt for this Sunday’s game against the Vikings.
Freeman suffered the injury in the first half of the lost to the Colts on Sunday at the Georgia Dome. He stayed in the game for two more plays before leaving for good.
There is no timetable for Freeman’s return. The protocol dictates that Freeman must return to baseline status of cognitive functions before he is cleared by the team doctor and an independent neuropsychology consultant. At that point, he would be eligible to gradually return to practice and play.
“I really don’t have a lot to go on other than he’s off to a good start to that,” Quinn said Monday. “He’s a competitor and we rely on for all sorts of things (in the) run game, pass game. He’s a real factor.”
Freeman had the Falcons’ longest play from scrimmage against the Colts, a 39-yard run. The run game stalled without him as rookie running backs Tevin Coleman and Terron Ward combined for 50 yards on rushing on 19 attempts.
Coleman lost a fumble that the Colts recovered at the 15-yard line on the first play of a drive in the third quarter. The turnover ended up not costing the Falcons much because Colts quarterback Matt Hasselbeck threw an interception three plays later.
But Coleman now has two fumbles, both lost, on just 60 touches this season. The Falcons selected him in the third round of the draft out of Indiana.
“For sure we have great belief in him,” Quinn said. “He got some reps in things that he probably had his first experience at with the discipline it takes to run it in this system, with one cut and pressing your blocks and going. Having that experience and going through that experience will pay dividends for us moving down the line. I have all the confidence in the world in him.”
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