2 critical players declared “out” for Atlanta Falcons in week 4

Injuries are the worst thing in the NFL and something that a struggling team like the Atlanta Falcons cannot afford to have, but you also cannot avoid them entirely.

Two key contributors for the Falcons—one on offense, one on defense—have been declared as “out” by head coach Arthur Smith.

Russell Gage and Marlon Davidson will not be available for Falcons this week.

The Atlanta Falcons will be missing a key player for both the offensive and defensive side of the ball, which is not a good thought as they need all the help they can get at this point.

Starting off with Atlanta’s number two wide receiver, Russell Gage, it will be the second straight game that he cannot suit up for. He injured his ankle in the week two game against the Buccaneers but was able to come back for a bit before he had to be shut down due to it flaring up or getting worse.

That obviously seems like a costly decision by him and the training staff for letting him back into the game as it seems like it made the issue worse.

Gage—even besides the injury—has been relatively disappointing this season. He was expected to make another huge leap to become the second receiver behind Calvin Ridley but has done next to nothing. He has five catches for 28 yards in the two games he has played, all those catches came in week two.

Certainly not the type of statistics you want to see from your second outside receiver.

The Falcons have also been looking around for help at receiver for the past week. Maybe they could sign someone after Sunday to help them moving forward—especially if Gage continues to miss time.

Marlon Davidson will be a big loss for Atlanta’s defensive line, he is a key contributor who will line up anywhere you want him to.

Davidson tore it up in the preseason, and while he has been a bit quieter in the regular season, he has still made his impact known.

Despite not playing over 40% of the snaps in any game, Marlon has eight tackles and one sack, which may not seem super impressive but he has made a bigger impact than the numbers would show.

The Atlanta Falcons will have to press forward without two key contributors.

However, there is good news, Atlanta is expected to see the return of their number one corner—A.J. Terrell—after he missed one game due to a concussion. That is a huge boost for the defense that came up clutch even without Terrell.