Saints, Falcons dealing with OL injuries entering Week 4

The injury report for the New Orleans Saints gets some positive news, however the team’s wide receiver room is quickly becoming a concern from an availability standpoint.

The team welcomed back running back Alvin Kamara and cornerback Alontae Taylor as we reported Wednesday afternoon, but wide receiver A.T. Perry was out with a hamstring injury, and Cedrick Wilson Jr. was limited with an ankle issue.

Here is the Saints-Falcons injury report from Thursday afternoon:

New Orleans Saints

Did Not Participate:

WR A.T. Perry (Hamstring)

OL Cesar Ruiz (Knee)

LB Demario Davis (Hamstring)

Limited Participation:

WR Cedrick Wilson Jr. (Ankle)

RB Alvin Kamara (Hip/Ribs)

DT Khalen Saunders (Calf)

LB D’Marco Jackson (Calf)

Full Participation:

CB Alontae Taylor (Illness)

QB Derek Carr (Left Groin)

TE Taysom Hill (Chest)

OL Landon Young (Foot)

While the Saints’ run game is getting a boost with the returns of Kamara and Hill, the passing game is taking a beating with Perry and Wilson out. Wilson has been the team’s go-to third wideout behind Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed, but the team does use a lot of two-wide receiver sets, limiting opportunities at the position. Not necessarily a bad thing, just the way they have operated.

So far this season, here are the snaps the Saints have taken (plays with penalty included) in their main personnel groups:

11 (three wide receivers) – 32% 

21 (two running backs) – 28% 

12 (two tight ends) – 27% 

22 (two running backs and two tight ends) – 9%

The remaining four percent is spread across several lesser-used groupings.

Perry has been inactive for each game so far this season but wants to be out on the field. Speaking with him in the locker room Thursday illuminated that he is working hard to do the things that the coaching staff wants from him in order to get back out on the field. He made it clear that he is handling this from a positive way, accepting the challenge and working to get back out on the field with his teammates. He feels that he showed a lot of positives in his scoring frenzy last season and wants to get back to contributing. It seems likely that he will again be inactive on Sunday due to the soft tissue risk involved with his ailment, but getting back to practice early next week is in the cards.

Atlanta Falcons

Did Not Participate:

OT Jake Matthews (Non-Football Injury/Personal)

OT Kaleb McGary (Knee)

Limited Participation:

LB Matthew Judon (Hamstring)

RB Bijan Robinson (Shoulder)

The Falcons are already set to be without their starting center in Drew Dalman who was placed on Injured Reserve with a high-ankle sprain. But they are not seeing much progress with starting tackle Kaleb McGary either. Both they and the Saints look to be heading into Sunday without a pair of starting offensive linemen.

Matthews missed for personal reasons as he and his wife, Meggi, are welcoming their second child.