Atlanta Falcons won’t have Julio Jones vs Cincinnati Bengals
By Jason Marcum
Coming into this week, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Atlanta Falcons were hoping to showcase their All-Pro wideouts in Georgia’s A.J. Green and Alabama’s Julio Jones when the two teams squared off in their preseason opener this Thursday night. After Green suffered a bone bruise to his knee last week, he didn’t even make the trip to Atlanta.
Now Jones will also miss Thursday’s game, head coach Mike Smith announced:
"Julio Jones has had tightness in his hamstrings and we will keep him out of the game on Thursday. It is a precautionary move."
Jones was limited in Monday’s practice with a hamstring injury, but has practiced since, and this is just another testament as to how little value is placed on the first preseason game. Jones caught 79 passes for 1,198 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.
The team will also be without linebacker Sean Weatherspoon for the foreseeable future after he suffered a dislocated finger, and it’s unclear as to when, or if he’ll play in any preseason game. Weatherspoon was second on the team with 114 tackles last season