Carson Meier

Falcons Place Johnathan Cyprien On IR

By Andrew Ortenberg | at October 8, 2019 1:30 pm

Injuries continue to pile up for the Falcons’ defense. Just about a week after making a deal to acquire safety Johnathan Cyprien from the Eagles, the team is placing him on injured reserve, they announced in a release.

Details on his injury weren’t immediately released, but he’ll now have to miss at least the next eight weeks. The Falcons already lost starting safety Keanu Neal for the season, and traded for Cyprien in part to help replace him. Cyprien started the team’s Week 5 loss to the Texans, so it’s yet another big blow to a unit that has been one of the most banged up in the entire league the past couple of years. The Falcons are now 1-4, and at a crossroads. Owner Arthur Blank has said he’s not making a coaching change at this time, but Dan Quinn is clearly on the hot seat.

Cyprien originally entered the league as a second-round pick of the Jaguars back in 2013. After four years as a full-time starter in Jacksonville, he signed with the Titans in 2017. He missed six games with a hamstring injury that year, but started the other ten. Last year, he missed the entire season with a torn ACL, and it’s unclear if his latest injury is related to that.

The Falcons made a small flurry of corresponding roster moves. They signed cornerback D.J. White off of the Eagles’ practice squad to their active roster, signed offensive lineman John Wetzel, signed punter Sam Irwin-Hill to their practice squad and released tight end Carson Meier off of the practice squad. Wetzel has started 24 games for the Cardinals the past three years, and White is a 2016 sixth-round pick of the Chiefs who has bounced around a bit but never played much.