It's starting to become clear that Raheem Morris' days in Atlanta are numbered, The Atlanta Falcons are amid a four-game losing streak, he's completely losing touch with the fanbase, and once again, the 49-year-old is finding every possible way to avoid being held responsible for the Falcons' slide.
It was bad enough to see him remain steadfast in his loyalty to OC Zac Robinson, who is arguably the worst play-caller in the entire NFL. But it's even worse to see that Morris has been hiding injury news, as he admitted on 92.9 The Game that Darnell Mooney has been playing through an injury all season.
Morris said that the veteran wideout suffered a broken collarbone during training camp, which is significantly more serious than the shoulder injury we were led to believe Mooney suffered. And the fact this is coming out months later is the latest piece of evidence that Morris needs to be fired.
Raheem Morris admits Falcons downplayed Darnell Mooney's training camp injury
In his first season in Atlanta, the 28-year-old wideout caught 64 passes for just under 1,000 receiving yards, but has yet to recapture that spark in Year 2. The Tulane product has caught just 13 passes for 190 yards this season, but at least it makes more sense why he's endured such a severe statistical regression.
Many fans originally chalked it up to a lack of chemistry with Michael Penix Jr., but now his sheer lack of productivity is incredibly disappointing for an entirely different reason. Mooney has battled minor injuries without his NFL career, but his "players coach" head coach isn't doing anything to protect him from additional injury.
The Falcons' receiver depth is already incredibly thin behind Drake London, so despite his shaky start to the season, Mooney is one of the last players this offense can afford to lose. Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson have both lapped him as the WR2, but when he's heathy he's the perfect downfield threat for the offense.
Morris has already lost a lot of brownie points with the fanbase this season, and that won't change. It feels like he's using months-old injury news to justify the former fifth-rounder's rough season, and his decision not to add any insurance at the position makes the news sting even worse.
They saw him miss all of training camp while trotting out Casey Washington, David Sills V, and KhaDarrel Hodge knowing you have a first-time starter under center is textbook coaching malpractice. That's Morris just setting Penix up for failure.
All of the drama surrounding him this season is proof that Atlanta needs to address the position in the draft—and that a change in leadership is needed before the second-year coach can do any more damage to a great roster.