CINCINNATI — Atlanta Falcons cornerback A.J. Terrell has been ruled out of the rest of Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals after suffering a hamstring injury in the first quarter.
Terrell’s injury happened away from the ball — Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow passed to Joe Mixon on the right side. Terrell, defending a receiver on the left side of the field, fell to the ground 15 yards from the play and grabbed his right leg.
The Falcons’ doctors and athletic trainers looked at Terrell’s right leg before he walked gingerly to the blue medical tent, where he was evaluated and then ruled out. When he came out of the tent, he was still moving gingerly on the sideline.
Terrell, Atlanta’s top cornerback, had left last week’s win over San Francisco after he grabbed the back of his right leg, announced later as a thigh injury. At the time, Terrell told ESPN they were just playing it safe with him, holding him out of the rest of the game against the 49ers so he would be ready to go Sunday against the Bengals.
He practiced all week — Wednesday on a limited basis and then Thursday fully — and had no designation on the injury report. This puts Atlanta down both of its starting cornerbacks, as Casey Hayward was placed on injured reserve Tuesday with a shoulder injury requiring surgery that he suffered against the 49ers.
This leaves the Falcons starting second-year pro Darren Hall and an elevation from the team’s practice squad for the week, Cornell Armstrong, as the team’s outside cornerbacks.
The 24-year-old Terrell has 28 tackles and five passes defended, a forced fumble and fumble recovery this season.
Source: www.espn.com