FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons starting inside linebacker Troy Andersen, who has missed the past three games after suffering a left knee injury, is set to return to practice Wednesday, coach Raheem Morris said Monday.
“Troy is going to practice for us on Wednesday,” Morris said. “We’ll get him our there, get him moving around a little bit to see where he is.”
The Falcons are being careful with Andersen’s injury. He missed most of last season with a pectoral injury.
“Obviously, Troy is a Ferrari, so to speak,” Morris said. “Troy’s game is based of moving fast, vicious, and speed. (That’s) what makes Troy special, scoring touchdowns for us, is his ability to run and be as healthy as possible.”
Andersen recorded his first career interception and first career touchdown with a 47-yard pick-six with 7:54 remaining in the first half of the Week 4 win against the Saints.
Andersen, who also had 16 tackles, was named the NFC defensive player of the week by the NFL that week.
Andersen, who injured his knee with 3:57 to play while he was on special teams, made double-digit tackles in consecutive games for the first time in his career.
Starting left guard Matthew Bergeron suffered a neck injury Sunday and did not return. He passed the concussion protocol.
Center Ryan Neuzil and outside linebacker James Smith-Williams suffered injuries, but returned to the game.
“I think everybody is going to be OK,” Morris said. “We’ll get some more clarity on it (Monday). We got some more nicks and bruises from a typical NFL football game. ... Berg was the guy who cleared concussion protocol, but he had the neck injury.”
Outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter, after being on the injury report with a concussion, was placed on injured reserve Saturday.
“That’s listening to your doctors,” Morris said. “He came in, and it wasn’t great. Went through the protocol and all of the stuff that he’s going through. I don’t know all of the technical terms ... the recommendation was to shut him down for a little bit. I’m going to do whatever is best for our guys in order to protect them from a health and safety standpoint.”
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