Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan suffered a turf toe injury and missed two games back in 2009.
Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones, who leads the lead in receiving with 1,253 yards, has a turf toe injury that limited his action against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.
Some believe the Falcons should rest Jones against their next two opponents, the 4-8 Rams and 1-11 49ers.
Ryan, on his weekly show on 680 The Fan, was reluctant to play team doctor for Jones, but discussed his history with the injury.
“There are varying levels and degrees and all that kind of stuff,” Ryan said. “So, I don’t want to speculate about anything that’s going on with Julio. But, for me, it was a tough injury. It was the tearing of a ligament that connects the two sesamoid bones in your foot to the toe. You can tear that in a lot of different ways. You can stretch it or strain it. There are varying degrees.”
After missing two games, Ryan returned to lead the Falcons to three victories and post the first-ever back-to-back winning seasons in franchise history back in 2009.
“For mine’s, it was painful,” said Ryan, who played with a steel plate in his shoe. “It was probably one of the toughest injuries that I’ve had and I’ve been fortunate and lucky throughout my career, but that one was tough. There are varying degrees. For me, it was a difficult one to go through.”
The cautious Ryan wouldn’t weigh-in on if he thought Jones, who was at the Hawks and Oklahoma City Thunder game on Monday night, should be rested.
“I can’t answer that,” Ryan said. “It’s not my foot and I’m certainly not a doctor.”
Radio co-host and former wide receiver Brian Finneran spoke up for his former quarterback.
“It is painful and it does take some rest,” Finneran said. “If you can get through it, you get through it. You put a steel plate in your shoe and try to battle through it. If not, when you play teams like the Rams and the 49ers you take some rest off of it.”
