Falcons RB Cordarrelle Patterson Placed on IR; Who Replaces Him?

The Atlanta Falcons' top-five rushing offense has suffered a blow, as Cordarrelle Patterson will miss at least four games. However, Sunday's win over the Cleveland Browns provided a glimpse of what's to come, and it's possible Atlanta's offense doesn't skip a beat.

The Atlanta Falcons will be without one of their top playmakers for at least the next four weeks.

Fresh off winning NFC Offensive Player of the Month, star running back Cordarrelle Patterson has been placed on injured reserve after undergoing a minor procedure to fix a knee injury.

The injury, which led to swelling and kept the 31-year-old out of practice for much of last week, made Patterson questionable for Sunday's 23-20 win over the Cleveland Browns, but he was deemed healthy and saw nine carries for 38 yards and a touchdown.

Per NFL Network, Patterson "should" be back once the four-week minimum is over, which puts him in line to return Nov. 6, when Atlanta hosts the Los Angeles Chargers.

In a corresponding move, the Falcons signed running back Caleb Huntley to their 53-man roster following a 10-carry, 56-yard, one-touchdown showing against Cleveland after being elevated from the practice squad the day before.

Huntley provided a spark to Atlanta's offense as the game entered the fourth quarter, taking eight carries for 54 yards and a go-ahead score.

The 24-year-old Huntley signed with the Falcons in 2021 as an undrafted rookie out of Ball State and spent his entire first season on the team's practice squad. He capped off a promising second preseason with 19 rushes for 86 yards and a touchdown against the Jacksonville Jaguars but was waived in the final round of cuts.

Huntley once more returned to Atlanta's practice squad but was elevated to the active roster for the team's 31-27 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. He received his first career regular season carry, taking the run for three yards.

After being down in Week 3, Huntley returned to the active roster for Sunday's home game with Cleveland, as Falcons head coach Arthur Smith and running backs coach Michael Pitre anticipated a physical game and felt the former Ball State star deserved an opportunity.

With Patterson and fellow running back Damien Williams both on injured reserve, the Falcons will be reliant on Huntley, Avery Williams and rookie Tyler Allgeier to carry the load in Week 5 contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with the winner taking first place in the NFC South.

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