The Atlanta Falcons are hoping to have avoided the worst when it comes to rookie Jake Matthews, but no one knows for sure yet. The left tackle left the game against the New Orleans Saints with an ankle injury. He returned to the sidelines for the second half without crutches or a boot on. That appears to be a positive sign, but he has yet to practice this week, causing some worry leading into a tough matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Matthews underwent an MRI on Monday that could indicate the left tackle suffered a high ankle sprain. That type of injury normally takes four to six weeks to heal which could be a big issue for the Falcons. Matthews moved to left tackle after the Falcons lost Sam Baker to injury. If Matthews is out, either Lamar Holmes or Gabe Carimi would start in his spot. Ryan Schraeder would take the other spot on the right. Holmes was benched in the win over the Saints while Carimi finished the game at left tackle. Head coach Mike Smith does not foresee it being an issue.
"Gabe had to step in to a role that he really wasn't fully prepared for, but I thought he did an outstanding job," Smith said, via ESPN.com. "Gabe was our John Havlicek going into the game last week. ... He'll get a lot more snaps this week at the left tackle position, and he'll be prepared to even play better. And I thought he played good last week. We protected our quarterback well."
The other name on the Falcons injury report was Roddy White who suffered a knee injury during the first-half of Week 1. White left for the locker room early, but returned to play in the second half. It is likely that being limited in Wednesday's practice was simply a precautionary measure, but it is something to keep an eye on. White suffered a high ankle sprain at the start of last season and paired that with hamstring issues for the remainder of the year. He returned healthy and his impact was felt immediately as quarterback Matt Ryan had his pick-your-poison offense back in place. Devin Hester and Harry Douglas would pick up the slack if for some off chance White was also limited in Week 2.
