Raheem Morris watched the Falcons lose DeMarrco Hellams and Bralen Trice in Atlanta’s first preseason contest against the Dolphins, and that was all he had to see.
In the second exhibition game, virtually no starters or fringe starters appeared against the Ravens, including Michael Penix Jr., which sparked controversy. Morris isn’t going to let the outside noise influence his decisions, but injuries are inevitable.
Limiting the potential for key players to get injured is possible, but at the end of the day, it’s not something that you can completely mitigate, as evident in the recent injuries to Kaden Elliss and Nate Landman, who missed the Falcons practice on Wednesday with soft tissue injuries.
Got some clarification on the status of Nate Landman and Kaden Elliss who were not at practice today. Quad for Nate, groin for Elliss.
— Tori McElhaney (@tori_mcelhaney) August 21, 2024
Elliss is going to be a key cog in Atlanta’s new-look defense. He will be an every-down linebacker, one that will defend against the run, drop into coverage, and rush the passer. Suffice to say, the Falcons desperately need Kaden Elliss in the fold.
With that being said, linebacker is one of the deeper position groups in Atlanta. Unfortunately, the other injury just so happens to be to another linebacker. Nate Landman stepped in for an injured Troy Andersen last year and gave the Falcons a lot of good play.
Hopefully, neither is too serious because that could be the Falcons starting duo come Week 1 against the Steelers. Soft tissue injuries are very tricky and hard to judge sometimes, though. Based on how Raheem Morris has handled other injury-related situations, nobody should be surprised if both are shut down until the season opener, out of caution.
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Photographer: Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire
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