The Atlanta Falcons placed Pro Bowl linebacker Deion Jones on injured reserve, the team announced Tuesday.
Jones suffered a foot injury in Thursday’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. He will have a surgical procedure performed on the foot, but the Falcons expect him to return this season.
“Following the game last Thursday, Deion reported soreness in his foot, so we sent him for further tests,” said head coach Dan Quinn on the Falcons’ website “We got the results of those tests back today, and he unfortunately will require a procedure that will result in us having to place him on injured reserve. We are bummed for Deion, but we do expect to get him back at some point this season. He represents all that we are looking for in a Falcon player, and while he will not be on the field for us right now, he will continue to have a presence in our building.”
Jones must remain on IR for at least six weeks. He then would have two weeks to return to the roster. The earliest date he could return would be on Nov. 11 for a game at Cleveland.
The move to put Jones on injured reserve comes one day after Atlanta placed Pro Bowl safety Keanu Neal on IR with a knee injury.
Jones has been a major part of the Falcons’ defense since he was selected in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
He started all 16 games last season when he had 138 total tackles and three interceptions and was named to the Pro Bowl
Against the Eagles in the opener, Jones made a game-high nine tackles and also recorded an interception and returned it 20 yards. He played the entire game and did not notice a problem with his foot until Friday.
