The San Francisco 49ers travel to face the Atlanta Falcons in Week 15, and Atlanta might be without one or two notable weapons. Wide receiver Julio Jones missed Week 14 with a turf toe injury, and head coach Dan Quinn said he will sit out Wednesday’s practice. Fellow wide receiver Mohamed Sanu missed Week 14 with a groin injury, and Quinn said they will probably get him back to practice on Wednesday.
All injuries are tough, but for receivers, turf toe and groin injuries can be particular difficult. The first practice participation report will arrive Wednesday afternoon. At that point we’ll see particularly where Sanu stands in light of Quinn’s comments.
Given this matchup against a 49ers team that is struggling, it does not make a lot of sense to push either receiver back too quickly. The Falcons thumped the Los Angeles Rams in Week 14 without either receiver. They did benefit from a pair of interceptions (one returned for a touchdown) and a fumble returned for a score, but they got some work from their offense mixed in. And while Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman were mostly contained in Week 14, they will have a juicy matchup against the 49ers run defense in Week 15. I suspect even if Jones and Sanu could both play, the Falcons will focus on the ground game.