FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — The Falcons might lack a key weapon when they start the season.
Falcons receiver Darnell Mooney suffered a shoulder injury last week during practice that will cause him to miss a few weeks. The team is hopeful he’ll be ready to play Week 1, but coach Raheem Morris sounded unsure when addressing the topic Tuesday.
“We’ll figure that thing out as we go,” Morris said. “We’re going with a few weeks right now (as the estimated absence). Then we’ll play it out after we get to that point. When we get to that point, we’ll figure out where we are and hopefully everything is looking good for us to continue into our season and get him back.”
The Falcons need to be near full strength for the opener. They’re hosting the reigning NFC South champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who, like the Falcons, revamped an ailing defense over the offseason.
Mooney, 27, is a vital part of the offense. He had 992 yards and five touchdowns last season as the team’s No. 2 receiver behind Drake London. He had 191 yards and three touchdowns on 13 catches in two games against the Bucs last season.