Falcons Explain Putting Pass Rusher on Injured Reserve

The Atlanta Falcons' league-worst pass rush will be without a starter moving forward, as outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter landed on injured reserve.

The Atlanta Falcons placed outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter on injured reserve last Saturday. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons endured a hectic four-day stretch with outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter leading up to their Week 7 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

On the Wednesday before facing Seattle, Carter did not participate in practice due to what the team initially described as an illness. That night, Atlanta changed "illness" to "concussion."

Carter did not practice Thursday, and Falcons head coach Raheem Morris ruled him out Friday. On Saturday, Atlanta moved Carter to injured reserve, which comes with a mandatory four-week absence.

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Asked on Monday about the reasoning for Carter's placement on injured reserve, Morris noted the decision was heavily influenced by Atlanta's medical team.

"That's listening to your doctors," Morris said. "He came in, and obviously it wasn't great, and we went through the protocol and all the stuff he's going through. I don't know all the technical terms, to be quite honest with you - that would be probably a lot more educated man than me telling you what that is.

"But the recommendation was to shut it down for a little bit, and I'm going to do whatever's best for our guys in order to protect them from a health and safety standpoint, particularly when you care about these guys the way I do."

The 6-foot-5, 264-pound Carter started the first five games of the campaign for Atlanta's defense but saw his role decrease in Week 6, playing a season-low 30% of snaps against the Carolina Panthers. It was the first time all year he'd been on the field for less than half of the Falcons' defensive snaps.

Through the first six contests, Carter collected 15 tackles, no sacks or tackles for loss and two quarterback hits, both coming against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3.

Drafted in the third round by the New York Giants in 2018, Carter, who played collegiately at Georgia, is in his third season with the Falcons.

In 2022, he started all 17 games, logging four sacks, six tackles for loss and 12 quarterback hits. Last season, the Norcross High School product, recorded three sacks, six tackles for loss and nine quarterback hits.

The Falcons' pass rush has been the NFL's least productive this season, totaling just six sacks. Carter was off to a difficult start pressuring the quarterback, but he'd been a consistent piece to the on-field puzzle before his concussion.

Now, Atlanta will move forward without him -- something Morris feels is best for Carter's long-term health.

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