The Falcons place returner Devin Hester, who’s been battling a nasty turf toe injury, on injured reserve-designed to return on Tuesday.
In other roster moves, the team signed safety Charles Godfrey and tight end Tony Moeaki. They released tight end Mickey Shuler.
“We have decided to place Devin on short-term IR,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “We have been trying to treat his toe injury the best we could, and he has been doing everything in his power to get back on the field, but at this point we think this is the best plan of action. We are confident this time will let Devin get healthy and be a big contributor to this team once he is back on the field.”
Hester will not be eligible to practice until six weeks has passed. Hester will also not be eligible to return to the active/inactive list until eight weeks, which is Week 13 of the season and the Falcons play at Tampa Bay.
Hester, formerly of the Chicago Bears, played 2014 with the Falcons. Last season, he played in 16 games with one start, and had 38 catches for 504 yards and two touchdowns. Hester also led the NFL in yards per punt with 13.3, number of kickoff/punt returns (63), and combined kick and punt yards with 1,368 yards.
Eric Weems has been returning kicks and punt this season for the Falcons.
The Falcons have injuries at safety and tight end, which prompted the signing of Godfrey and Moeaki. Free safety Ricardo Allen missed last week’s game with a knee injury and tight end Jacob Tamme is in the league’s concussion protocol program.
Godfrey was on the opening-day roster, but was released on Sept. 15 to make room for tackle Jake Long. Moeaki was released after reaching an injury settlement with the Falcons on Sept. 5.
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