HEADLINE

Falcons RB Freeman (knee) out again

The Sports Xchange

September 28, 2018 at 3:12 pm.

Atlanta Falcons running back Devonta Freeman will miss his third straight game because of a right knee injury, sitting out on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals, head coach Dan Quinn told reporters on Friday.

Freeman injured his knee during the season-opening game against the Philadelphia Eagles, and although he has made progress this week, he still won’t be healthy enough to play.

However, Freeman was able to get in limited practice reps during the week, and the Falcons’ training staff has turned its efforts toward getting him ready to play next week against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“When we list him as day to day until he can do those things to get going, I thought this week I saw the big jump,” said Quinn, who was encouraged by Freeman’s progress even though he won’t play Sunday.

“Instead of just (going) as part of rehab, but really participate into practice and putting his foot in the ground and explode, I thought it was good from Wednesday, better to Thursday and even better today. I thought he made a lot of progress this week.”

The original estimate was that Freeman would miss about two or three weeks.

The Falcons also ruled out defensive lineman Derrick Shelby (groin) and cornerback Justin Bethel (knee) for Sunday.

However, Quinn said defensive end Takkarist McKinley, who missed last week’s game against the New Orleans Saints because of a groin injury, would return against the Bengals. Atlanta’s pass rush was nearly non-existent in a loss to the Saints without McKinley.