Atlanta Falcons place William Moore on injured reserve

The Atlanta Falcons have a significant game coming up on Sunday, but unfortunately, the defense will be short-handed for Week 17 and beyond. On Tuesday afternoon, head coach Mike Smith announced that starting strong safety William Moore is on his way to injured reserve as a result of a shoulder injury, and with that announcement, Moore will be unavailable for the duration of the 2014 season.

The 29-year-old Moore has battled injury concerns throughout his career in Atlanta, including the fact that he has been limited to only six games during the 2014 campaign. Still, he is easily the most talented safety on the current roster (with apologies Dwight Lowery, Kemal Ishmael and company), and this is a big loss, even if it was one that was somewhat expected with Moore’s recent past.

On Sunday, the Atlanta Falcons will be tested by Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers, but on the bright side, this is not a match-up in which Mike Nolan’s unit should be exposed through the air. It will be interesting to see how this affects the future for William Moore in Flowery Branch for 2015 and beyond, but his 2014 season is officially over.