A shoulder injury is expected to sideline Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney for a few weeks, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
The injury occurred when Mooney dove for a deep ball during full-team work on Thursday and left the field with a trainer, according to ESPN’s Marc Raimondi. The sixth-year wideout could be sidelined for most of training camp, per WSB’s Zach Klein.
DJ Chark‘s workout was already scheduled before Mooney went down, but his injury seems to explain why the Falcons completed the signing yesterday. The team announced the one-year deal this morning.
The Falcons have a number of receivers who can step up in Mooney’s place during his absence, including KhaDarel Hodge, who played with the first team on Saturday, according to Josh Kendall of The Athletic. Veteran Jamal Agnew, who arrived in Atlanta this offseason on a one-year, $2.5MM deal, could also be in line for more reps. The same goes for Chark as he learns Atlanta’s offense.
Mooney’s injury doesn’t appear to threaten his Week 1 availability. He signed a three-year, $39MM deal with the Falcons last offseason and immediately turned in a strong debut season in Atlanta. He finished second on the team to Drake London in virtually every receiving category with 64 receptions on 106 targets for 992 yards and five touchdowns. Those were Mooney’s best numbers since 2021, and the team’s lack of investment in their receiver room this offseason shows that they believe in a repeat performance this year.
Aaand there it is. Braveshomer called it. Chark’s up.
I hope he heals up but I like Agnew and chark for speed and slot routes. We still have a solid WR room imo
I agree. And Mooney will still contribute. I have to give him credit for hustling hard in practice, on a serious note-he did hurt himself giving effort. Some guys don’t.
Haha I was definitely not trying to call it. Spoke it into existence unfortunately….Why go all out like that in practice smh?
They’re serious this season about winning. I can tell. The pressers have been different too.
I mean, it’s admirable, if nothing else. Helps feed the winning drive machine that needs to get rolling in the offseason.
They didn’t even mention Ray-Ray McCloud, who is probably #3, but if Chark is healthy, he’s probably #4 ahead of KhaDarel Hodge by week 1. Jamal Agnew gets the last spot as the return man unless they drafted somebody I’m forgetting about.
I’m really big on McCloud I loved what he did last year for us.
Every McCloud has a silver lining 🙂
You clever basturd lol
The Falcons have one of the thinnest WR groups in the league. Hope he and Penix had enough time to gel, it could be a slow start to the season for this offense.
I think it’s manageable though. McCloud is solid London is a top 10 WR now and Bijan is a Swiss Army knife.