Linebacker Troy Andersen returned to participate in limited fashion at practice on Friday. But he remains in the concussion protocol. Because of that, Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith ruled him out for the Week 2 matchup against the Green Bay Packers.
Inside linebackers Tae Davis and Nate Landman will likely see more snaps in Andersen’s absence on Sunday. Davis is listed directly behind Andersen on the Falcons depth chart.
Atlantafalcons.com’s Tori McElhaney reported on Friday that Landman played first-team repetitions in practice next to Atlanta’s other starting inside linebacker, Kaden Elliss.
Davis and Landman have big shoes to fill. Andersen had a nice season opener with 10 combined tackles. He also had 1 tackle for loss, 1 quarterback hit and 0.5 sacks.
The half a sack was Andersen’s first in the NFL. It was also the second game of Andersen’s career where he reached double-digit tackles.
Davis made 1 tackle in the season opener against the Carolina Panthers, but that came on special teams. He played 22 special teams snaps while receiving zero snaps on defense.
In his fifth NFL season, though, Davis is a veteran. He hasn’t made a start since 2019, but he’ll likely be ready to roll in whatever capacity he’s needed.
Landman doesn’t have any NFL experience. The undrafted free agent played five seasons at Colorado from 2017-21. Last year for the Buffaloes, he recorded 6 tackles for loss and 4 pass defenses with 63 total tackles.
Cornerback Jeff Okudah remained on the Falcons injury report. But at this time last week, the Falcons had already ruled out the cornerback. Okudah is officially questionable for Week 2, which gives him about a 50-50 shot of making his Atlanta debut on Sunday.
Okudah and Cordarrelle Patterson both practiced on Friday. The Falcons didn’t include Patterson on the official injury report.
