The Atlanta Falcons will be without a pair of key players in Sunday's regular season finale against the New Orleans Saints.
During his press conference Friday, Falcons coach Arthur Smith ruled out starting center Drew Dalman (ankle) and safety DeMarcco Hellams (concussion).
Dalman and Hellams each missed practice Wednesday and Thursday; the former left last Sunday's loss to the Chicago Bears early with his injury while the latter entered concussion protocol following the game.
Starting quarterback Taylor Heinicke, who's been battling through an ankle injury and was limited Wednesday and Thursday, has officially been listed as questionable.
The same is true for rookie defensive end Zach Harrison (knee) and cornerback Mike Hughes (concussion).
With Dalman out, the Falcons will likely turn to Ryan Neuzil at center. Neuzil started Atlanta's losses to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers in early December while filling in for Dalman and replaced him against Chicago.
In Hellams' absence, third-year pro Richie Grant figures to ascend back into the starting strong safety role, which he held for the season's first 13 games but lost as Hellams enjoyed a strong close to his rookie campaign.
Even with Hellams out, Falcons defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen asserted the team's three-safety packages will remain in place - and it seems backup safety Micah Abernathy may be in line for increased snaps Sunday.
"We still have the package," Nielsen said. "You will probably see it again because we have some other guys that would play for us. We’ve played a lot of guys the entire season – D-Line, linebackers and in the secondary – so, we can mix and match a bunch of different combinations to get that group on the field.
"We’ll do it again."
Atlanta (7-9) and New Orleans (8-8) will kick off Sunday at 1 p.m. EST inside Caesars Superdome.
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