Falcons Face Secondary Questions if A.J. Terrell Jr. Misses Panthers Game

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga – With the status of A.J. Terrell Jr. unknown heading into this weekend’s divisional matchup with the Carolina Panthers, the Atlanta Falcons will likely need to have several players they can call to action. The cornerback injured his hamstring during Sunday night's 22-6 win in Minnesota and did not return.

As of Wednesday, the Falcons were largely noncommittal on his status moving forward.

"We'll see how it goes, we’ll get a good feel for it as [the week] goes," Raheem Morris said, while confirming Terrell would be week-to-week. "Obviously, those hamstrings are tricky. You don’t want to rush those things back, but you don’t want to shortchange a great player either."

If he were unable to play in Week 3, where would the Falcons turn? It may not be as clear as we thought coming out of Sunday’s game.

Terrell, a former All-Pro cornerback, has been one of the Falcons’ most reliable defenders since being drafted in the first round in 2020. Before this season, he has started 78 of a possible 82 games and tallied 49 passes defensed, six interceptions, 313 tackles (233 solo), 13 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles, two quarterback hits, one sack, and one fumble recovery.

That consistency has carried into 2025, with the star corner allowing just three catches for 28 yards on Mike Evans in Week 1 and just 1.1 yards of separation per target. He took just 27 snaps in Week 2 against the Vikings and allowed only a pair of receptions (three targets) for 24 yards in the game.

If he were to miss Sunday’s game, or any more time after that, it could leave this Falcons’ secondary in worrisome shape.

Dee Alford stepped in and played all of the vacated snaps on Sunday, and Morris said the veteran played well in Terrell’s absence. He was targeted twice on his 19 defensive snaps and did not allow a reception.

However, that performance does not necessarily mean that he will simply slide into this starting role.

The Falcons’ head coach confirmed that there would “definitely” be a competition in practice to see who would take on that responsibility, should the opportunity present itself.

“We want to have those guys go out there and compete at a very high level this week in order to figure out who gets the best opportunity,” Morris said Wednesday. “We got Clark coming off the (rib) injury he had in the preseason, trying to get back into the mix – great opportunity for him. Obviously, we picked up C.J. Henderson. Obviously, we have our Swiss Army knife in Natrone Brooks, playing safety, playing nickel, playing outside.

“So, all of those guys have an opportunity to go compete for helmets, compete to get on the grass to help us win. It is something that we look forward to doing.”

As Morris mentioned, several players will get the opportunity to compete this week to play opposite Mike Hughes.

The aforementioned Alford will likely get the first crack at it, but Natrone Brooks, Clark Phillips III (who has been a healthy scratch in the first two weeks), and Mike Ford Jr. are also on the active roster and could factor in, as well.

All four players have varying levels of experience.

Alford struggled for stretches last season, primarily playing out of the nickel. He allowed 69 receptions on 92 targets for 640 yards and eight touchdowns (122.6 QB rating) over 11 starts and 16 games played. His catch rate allowed was 75%.

Philips was slightly better, but still allowed 25 receptions on 37 targets for 306 yards and three touchdowns (108.6 QB rating), but did register an interception. His catch rate allowed was 67.6%.

Natrone Brooks was a camp and preseason standout, but has limited game experience. He did appear in three games last season, where he allowed four receptions of five targets for 32 yards.

Mike Ford Jr. is primarily a special teams contributor, but could step in if needed.

On the practice squad, veteran C.J. Henderson will almost certainly get a look, as will rookie Cobee Bryant and the recently signed Keith Taylor.

The Carolina Panthers will be an important matchup for the Falcons. Do not let the 0-2 record fool you, divisional opponents can be a pesky out for teams. Just last year, Atlanta split the series with the Panthers, as they have every year since 2020.

Quarterback Bryce Young had a voluminous performance in their 27-22 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, where he threw the ball 55 times for 328 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception. As a whole, the Panther offense has been sluggish, scoring just 16 points per game.

Despite his early-season struggles, they showed themselves to be perfectly capable of breaking out against the Falcons. In Atlanta’s Week 18 loss, they allowed 44 points, as Young completed 73.5% of his passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns.

For a team with playoff aspirations, even one week without Terrell feels like holding their breath. If Terrell can’t go, the Falcons’ secondary will face a real test against a Panthers team desperate to get on the board.