FLOWERY BRANCH — Because of roster situations, injuries and personal matters, the Falcons excused several players from practice Wednesday.

There were several players missing during the opening portion of practice. Wide receiver Drake London (knee injury), left guard Jalen Mayfield (sick, lower back) and Marlon Davidson (knee surgery) also missed practice Monday.

Safety Dean Marlowe, cornerback Isaiah Oliver, cornerback Mike Ford, linebacker Deion Jones, outside linebacker Arnold Ebiketie, running back Cordarrelle Patterson, wide receiver Bryan Edwards and tight end John FitzPatrick were not on hand Wednesday.

“The picture will clear up for a lot of those guys,” Falcons coach Arthur Smith said. “But we’re excited about Drake’s progress. We’ll see where that goes. Those other guys, we’ll just wait and see how it plays out.”

One player was absent to attend the funeral of his best friend.

“Events come up, you better make sure you are there,” Smith said. “We have enough guys. We are there to support everybody in our organization. Things come up, and you have major life events.”

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