Atlanta Falcons Update Injury Status of Darnell Mooney, Jalon Walker

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga – The Atlanta Falcons are set to kick off their season on Sunday when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers come to Mercedes-Benz Stadium. With Week 1 being less than six days away, the status of wide receiver Darnell Mooney and rookie edge Jalon Walker is still unclear.

“He’s day-to-day,” Raheem Morris said about the current status of the Falcons’ wide receiver. “He’s out there working today. He did a couple of things, and we’ll see. Hopefully, we’ll see.”

Mooney took part in the team’s jog-through practice today and participated in the individual drills. Morris says he is still unsure about his status for Sunday, but that he “feels good about where he’s at.”

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The Falcons’ head coach cited conditioning, general wear and tear, and other things associated with “player performance” as Mooney ramps back up to full availability.

“We’ll see towards the end of this weekend, and work him into whatever we have to work him into,” he said. “How can he best perform, and can he help us win this football game without furthering any other issues?”

Mooney was notably absent for the entirety of this summer’s training camp after picking up a shoulder injury on the first day of practices on July 24th. Based on how he is currently trending, the veteran receiver appears to be on track to return in time for the start of the regular season.

In his first year in Atlanta in 2024, Mooney was just a few yards short of recording the second 1,000-yard season of his career. The former Chicago Bear is still projected as a key part of the team’s offense in 2025.

In addition to Mooney, Morris was also able to update the status of Jalon Walker on Monday. The first of the Falcons’ two first-round draft picks has missed a large chunk of the summer’s padded practices with various soft tissue injuries.

In his lone preseason game, the former No. 15 overall pick recorded just one tackle. He missed the team’s second and third preseason games due to the groin issue he picked up in the joint practices with the Titans.

The Falcons’ head coach confirmed that Walker is “on track” to make his regular-season debut on Sunday.

“Those four [rookies] are on track to be out there and playing and up and running and going,” Morris said. “Really fired up… They looked good today.”