Falcons' Cordarrelle Patterson, Jeff Okudah Injury Update: Status vs. Lions?

The Atlanta Falcons are off to a strong 2-0 start, which has only been made more impressive considering they've done so shorthanded.

Both running back Cordarrelle Patterson (thigh) and cornerback Jeff Okudah (foot) have missed the season's first two games are suffering injuries in training camp ... though they may be back for Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions.

Patterson and Okudah are officially listed as questionable, the same as last week, though now aided by more time to heal and get back into playing shape.

There's uncertainty surrounding Patterson's status, as he didn't participate in Thursday's practice but was a full-go on Wednesday and Friday.

Okudah was a full participant all week, but questions still remain, with Falcons coach Arthur Smith outlining what boxes need to be checked before the former No. 3 overall pick is cleared.

“A couple of things," Smith said. "We want to make sure that not just physically, but mentally, healthy, feel good. When you’ve been out for about a month, it’s hard to go from zero to 100. So, there’s a lot of things that go into it.

"But certainly, trending in the right direction. Same with CP.”

If Okudah is able to play, it'll mark a full-circle story, as he spent the first three seasons of his career in Detroit before being traded to Atlanta this spring.

He's optimistic he'll be good to go ... and so is Patterson, who said he's "very confident" he'll play while Okudah echoed similar sentiments in his return to the Motor City.

“I think as a competitor, you naturally have a game like this circled,” Okudah said. “The environment is going to be a crazy environment. So, I mean, I can’t wait.”

Should the Falcons be without Okudah and Patterson once more, they'll likely start Tre Flowers at cornerback and elevate Godwin Igwebuike from the practice squad to be an extra running back with return ability.

Flowers has been a target of opponents at times, but he's impressed Atlanta's coaching staff, including assistant head coach/defense Jerry Gray.

“I thought Tre did a good job (in Week 2)," Gray said. "We’re sitting here 2-0 so he had to do something right. The other things that we can correct, we can correct on the field. But I thought he competed when it was time for him to compete. He came right back the fourth quarter and we said, ‘Hey, go press these guys. That’s what you do best.’

"So all of a sudden, he started putting his hands on guys and that helped a whole lot.”

Falcons defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen said it's possible the team will rotate defensive backs opposite A.J. Terrell if Okudah plays, with he, Flowers and Mike Hughes all capable options.

“Maybe," Nielsen said. "I won’t get into that too heavily, but again, we’ve got a deep secondary. We have a lot of guys that can play. Jeff is one of them. Hopefully we can get him back in some type of way and see where he’s at.”

The Falcons and Lions are set to kick off at 1 p.m. EST Sunday inside Ford Field.