Among the most concerning Atlanta Falcons stories to emerge from the Week 1 23-20 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was a late injury to Drake London. Attempting to grab the go-ahead score, London leaped into the air and appeared to make a fantastic catch. It was ruled incomplete, and there wasn't an angle to overturn. On the play, the star pass-catcher appeared to hurt his shoulder and didn't come back into the game.
It is easy to imagine the game going far differently if London had been in for the final drive. Perhaps the Falcons could've gotten close enough even for Younghoe Koo not to miss. Regardless, attention now turns to London's health and what the receiver's Week 2 status is going to be. The Falcons are slated to travel to Minnesota for Sunday Night Football.
Falcons Head Coach Raheem Morris Offers Concerning Non-Update on Injured Drake London
In the postgame presser, Falcons head coach Raheem Morris was asked about the status of his star receiver, only for him to have no update on London, according to beat writer Terrin Waack. This is obviously majorly concerning. If Morris believed it wasn't potentially very serious, the Falcons would've wanted fans to be assured that the star would be returning to the lineup in Week 2.
The attempted catch that London was injured on didn't offer any clear signs of what may have happened to the veteran WR. It's even more concerning for the Falcons with Darnell Mooney dealing with a shoulder injury as well. Mooney has returned to practice but has yet to rejoin the lineup. Keeping this in mind, the Falcons would be wise to go out and add to the wideout position.
If they don't, we're looking at a very likely scenario of Penix being asked to elevate Casey Washington and Ray-Ray McCloud as his primary targets on the road against a Brian Flores-led Minnesota Vikings defense in Week 2. Obviously, this is far from ideal and sets up the Falcons for a 0-2 start. The hope remains that one or both can return to the lineup ahead of Sunday night's game.
If London and Mooney aren't able to quickly return, Atlanta's season will quickly circle the drain with no other reliable options currently rostered.