The Falcons entered Thursday with some encouraging injury news, but the defensive depth chart still has a couple of holes heading into Week 7.
Linebacker Divine Deablo and cornerback Billy Bowman were not spotted at practice, according to The Athletic’s Josh Kendall. Both were also out on Wednesday, and at this stage it does not look promising that either will suit up Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers in Atlanta.
Deablo left the Falcons’ loss to the Chicago Bears with a forearm injury and never came back. Losing the green-dot wearer would be a significant blow with the 49ers’ offense on deck.
Bowman’s situation traces back to last week’s game against Chicago, when he went down with a hamstring injury. The second-year corner had already dealt with a major setback last season, missing a large chunk of time because of an Achilles tear before making his way back into the lineup a few weeks ago.
If Deablo is unavailable, Atlanta would turn to Kendal Daniels to handle the green-dot duties. Daniels, a rookie, suffered a scary neck injury last weekend, but he looks on track to be available for Week 7. Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said he has total confidence in Daniels, per ESPN’s Marc Raimondi.
"He takes a lot of pride in getting everybody on the same page," Ulbrich said of Daniels filling in for Deablo.
There was better news in the secondary. A.J.
Terrell returned to practice and was a full participant, while C.J. Henderson also got back on the field after sitting out in Week 6.
If Terrell, Henderson, or both are available Sunday, that would give Atlanta a much better shot at limiting Mike Evans, Christian McCaffrey and the rest of the 49ers’ offense.
The Falcons are set to continue updating their injury situation Thursday afternoon, with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.
In Other News...
Falcons Young Core Faces A Brutal Week 7 Measuring Stick
A midseason trip to a contender can be a harsh way to find out where a young roster really stands, and the Falcons are staring at exactly that kind of test in Week 7 of the 2026 season. The matchup is shaping up as a measuring stick for a developing core that is still trying to prove it belongs in the same conversation with the leagues upper tier, even if the projection around this game suggests the task is a steep one.
San Francisco is the kind of opponent that can expose every weak spot, especially when a team is still learning how to handle pressure on both sides of the ball. The 49ers are being treated as the standard in this forecast, and for Atlanta, the bigger question may not be whether it can spring an upset in this spot, but what the Falcons can learn from a game that already looks like one of the toughest on their schedule. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Offense Has One Frustrating Shift Fans Can't Ignore
After a promising start, the Falcons have suddenly dropped two straight, and the frustration around the offense is starting to feel familiar for a team trying to build something around Michael Penix Jr. Atlantas early success came with a run-first approach that kept the attack balanced and gave the rookie quarterback a steadier rhythm, but the recent slide has invited sharper scrutiny of how the offense is being called and whether it has drifted from what was working.
Tommy Rees is now at the center of that conversation, with his play-calling drawing criticism for moving away from the scheme that helped the Falcons find their footing. The bigger concern for Atlanta is not just that the offense has cooled, but that key pieces are not being used in a way that maximizes what they do best, leaving fans wondering why a unit that looked so efficient not long ago has become so hard to trust. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Pass Defense May Force A Deadline Move They Can't Dodge
After the loss to the Bears, the Falcons pass defense is looking like the sort of problem that can force a front office into action before the deadline. Atlanta expects help back soon with A.J. Terrell and James Pearce Jr. on the way from injury, but the secondary has still been vulnerable enough to keep the conversation centered on whether more help is needed, and how aggressive the team wants to be in fixing it.
One name worth watching is a corner with a short-term deal in Philadelphia, where the Eagles season has taken a turn and the franchise may be more willing to listen than it was a few weeks ago. For the Falcons, the question is whether the combination of reinforcements already coming back and the urgency created by recent breakdowns is enough to push them into a move they might otherwise try to avoid. [Read more 🡒]