Falcons vs. Panthers: Cordarrelle Patterson and Jeff Okudah are OUT

Atlanta is down its Joker, a starting cornerback, with another corner potentially benched.

The 2023 season is officially kicking off for the Falcons, and despite trying to limit injuries by going easy on snaps in preseason, Atlanta is down multiple starters. That’s a tough spot to be in, especially with so many new players and a new defensive scheme, both of which have had limited time to get up to speed and fully installed.

The Falcons may need just a little bit of luck against a rebuilding Panthers team.

The Falcons are down three notable players, with two corners from its limited depth chart out. We need to hope AJ Terrell bounces back and Jessie Bates helps keep things contained up top.

The most notable, in my opinion, is Patterson. Now called Atlanta’s joker, Patterson is one of many players without a true position who can line up at multiple spots on the field. Atlanta has a good handful of those players, but with each one missing, the offensive versatility drops. It is unclear if the Falcons are able to show off the full extent of its offense without Patterson.

• RB Cordarrelle Patterson
• CB Mike Hughes
• CB Jeff Okudah
• QB Logan Woodside (third QB)
• OL Jovaughn Gwyn
• WR Josh Ali
• TE John FitzPatrick

Hughes was questionable earlier in the week but wasn’t included in Atlanta’s final injury report. He may have been sat in place of Natrone Brooks.

For the Panthers, that injury list is much more limited. The good news is that while Atlanta is down two corners, the Panthers are down DJ Chark, one of its very limited pass catchers.

• WR DJ Chark
• CB D’Shawn Jamison
• LB Claudin Cherelus
• G Nash Jensen

Kickoff is today at 1 pm.