Julio Jones injury update: Falcons star will play, snaps will be limited
The Atlanta Falcons should have Julio Jones on Thursday, but in a limited capacity
The Atlanta Falcons will trot into Thursday Night Football against the New Orleans Saints as they look to remain among the NFL’s remaining unbeaten teams. However, there was a fear coming out of their Week 5 victory that they may have to take on the Saints without their biggest offensive weapon in star wide receiver Julio Jones.
Jones has been nursing a hamstring and toe injury in recent weeks and, coming into this short week, there was concern that he would sit out the action on Thursday. However, Tiffany Blackmon of NFL Media is reporting that Jones is, in fact, going to be active on Thursday night. Throwing a bit of cold water on the situation, Blackmon added that Jones would be on a “pitch count” against New Orleans.
Jones was reportedly supposed to be on a limited snap count in Week 5 against the Washington Redskins, but a close contest led to him playing all but seven offensive snaps for the Falcons. However, it’s been undeniable that the injuries have affected his performance over the past two weeks.
After collecting at least nine passes and amassing 135 yards or more receiving in each of his first three games, Jones has just nine catches and 105 yards receiving combined over his last two games, as well as no receiving touchdowns in those two games.
The Falcons surely don’t want to risk Jones’ health for a Thursday night matchup against a 1-4 Saints team, even if New Orleans is a division rival. The fact that they plan to let him suit up speaks volumes to the fact that this injury isn’t terribly serious, but also of his value by still wanting to limit his snaps.
In terms of fantasy, Leonard Hankerson and Roddy White become a bit more intriguing than they may have already been against a Saints defense that has been burned by the passing game to this point in the season. Another interesting player to keep an eye on would be tight end Jacob Tamme.
Tamme seemed to be the beneficiary of Jones’ limitations due to injury in Week 5 as the veteran tight end led Atlanta in catches and receiving yards while also being tied for the most targets on the team with Jones. He could be an interesting streaming or daily fantasy option with guys like Jimmy Graham still struggling and Jason Witten being on a bye this week.