Atlanta Falcons: Tampa missing two players ahead of divisional matchup

As the Atlanta Falcons prepare to take on the Tampa Bay Bucs headlines have been breaking surrounding Tampa and their players’ vaccination status.  Antonio Brown and Mike Edwards were both suspended for three games for misleading the team and the NFL on their vaccination status.

This is a serious situation and the league has reacted accordingly.  Edwards and Brown were not the only players involved as receiver John Franklin was suspended as well. Franklin was a practice squad player who is currently a free agent and had spent time practicing with Tampa.

The suspension will happen over the next three games meaning Atlanta won’t have to face Mike Edwards or Brown. Antonio was already likely to miss the game considering he hasn’t been healthy and seems to be weeks away from starting.

The Atlanta Falcons won’t have to face Mike Edwards, a player that tormented Matt Ryan in their last matchup

Dodging Edwards is something Matt Ryan can surely appreciate considering Edwards turned two Matt Ryan passes into scores for Tampa in their last matchup.  Edwards ended the game in Tampa’s favor catching two Matt Ryan passes and taking them back for scores that ended what had been an impressive Atlanta Falcons comeback attempt.

Atlanta is coming off of a win against the hapless Jaguars while Tampa had a big comeback win against the Colts that saw Tampa battle impressively against one of the hotter teams in football. Now they are getting ready to face a team they have beaten three times in a row and could easily overlook.

The Falcons have to hope this is the case against a team that has consistently had their number since Tom Brady came into the fold.  Losing Edwards hurts the Bucs but Tampa will still be heavily favored and on paper is clearly the better team ahead of a big matchup with Atlanta.