The Falcons have placed 35-year old LB Mike Peterson (torn triceps) and 28-year old CB Kelvin Hayden (toe) on the Injured Reserve List, ending their seasons.  Mike Peterson played in 15 games for the Falcons this year and he had 24 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 interception and 3 passes defensed.  Kelvin Hayden played in 8 games for the Falcons this year and he had 24 tackles, 2 interceptions, 4 passes defensed and 1 tackle for a loss.  These injuries are going to hurt the Falcons’ depth on D.

35-year old TE Tony Gonzalez has been elected to his 12th Pro Bowl this year.  He has played in 15 games for the Falcons so far this year and he has caught 79 passes for 867 yards (11.0 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  Gonzalez has now played in 47 games (all starts) in his first three years with the Falcons and he has caught 232 passes for 2,390 yards (10.3 avg) with 19 TD grabs.  Tony Gonzalez has now played in 237 games in his first 15 years in the NFL and he has caught 1,148 passes for 13,300 yards (11.6 avg) with 95 TD grabs.  Gonzalez is #2 in NFL history in receptions.  He is also #11 in NFL history in receiving yards and he is also #9 in TD receptions.

The Falcons have lost 26-year old starting left tackle Sam Baker for the next 3-4 weeks due to a back injury.  Baker has played in 6 games (all starts) for the Falcons this year.  He has now played in 44 games (41 starts) in his first four seasons with the Falcons.  29-year old Will Svitek will replace Baker in the starting lineup.  Svitek has played in 7 games (1 start) for the Falcons so far this year.  He has played in 36 games (3 starts) for the Falcons in his first three years with the team.  The Falcons hope that Svitek will be able to handle blocking on Matt Ryan’s blind side.

The Falcons have signed 26-year old fullback Mike Cox.  Cox played in 7 games for the Chiefs last year and he caught 4 passes for 27 yards (6.8 avg).  He has now played in 39 games in his first three years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 4 times for 3 yards (0.8 ypc).  Cox also caught 22 passes for 125 yards (5.7 avg) so far in his career.  Cox was with the Falcons in training camp, so he will have to edge to start in place of Ovie Mughelli, who is done for the season.

The Atlanta Falcons have placed 31-year old, starting fullback Ovie Mughelli on the Injured Reserve List (ending his season) due to a knee injury.  Mughelli played in 7 games for the Falcons this year and he carried the ball 2 times for 1 yard (0.5 ypc).  He also caught 4 passes for 25 yards (6.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs and he also had 3 tackles.  Mughelli has played in 69 games in his five years with the Falcons and he has carried the ball 30 times for 70 yards (2.3 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 38 passes for 295 yards (7.8 avg) with 4 TD grabs so far for the Falcons.  Mughelli has also had 28 tackles in his time with the Falcons.  They are going to miss Mughelli.

The Falcons are going to be without rookie WR Julio Jones this Sunday against the Panthers due to a hamstring injury.  Jones has played in all five games for the Falcons so far this year and he has caught 25 passes for 358 yards (14.3 avg) without any TD grabs.  Harry Douglas will replace him in the starting lineup.  Douglas has played in all five games for the Falcons so far this year and he has caught 11 passes for 80 yards (7.3 avg) without any TD grabs.  Look for the Falcons to keep the passing game of the shorter variety this weekend against the Panthers without Jones active.

The Falcons have lost 29-year old DT Jonathan Babineaux for the next 3-5 weeks due to a partially torn MCL.  Babineaux played against the Bears last week and he had 1 tackle.  He has now played in 94 games in his first 7 years in the NFL and he has 218 tackles, 18 sacks, 40 tackles for a loss, 7 forced fumbles, 7 fumble recoveries, 13 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  This is a huge blow to the Falcons’ run defense which isn’t good with the Eagles coming to town with Michael Vick and Lesean McCoy this weekend.

The Falcons have released 32-year old LB Coy Wire.  Wire played in 15 games for the Falcons last year and he had 12 tackles and 1 fumble recovery.  He played in 47 games in his three years with the Falcons and he had 63 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 3 fumble recoveries and 2 passes defensed.  The Falcons shouldn’t miss Wire at all as he is at the tail end of his NFL career.

The Falcons have released 28-year old DE Chauncey Davis.  Davis played in all 16 games for the Falcons last year and he had 24 tackles, 1 sack, 5 tackles for a loss, 1 fumble recovery, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception (he returned it for a TD).  Davis played in 96 games in his six years with the Falcons and he had 178 tackles, 10 sacks, 20 tackles for a loss, 8 fumble recoveries, 2 forced fumbles, 6 passes defensed and 2 interceptions (1 returned for a TD).  Davis is probably going to get snapped up by another team as he is a dependable backup TE.

The Falcons have signed 28-year old CB Kelvin Hayden.  Hayden played in 11 games for the Colts last year and he had 61 tackles, 8 passes defensed, 2 interceptions (both returned for TDs), 1 forced fumble and 4 tackles for a loss.  Hayden has now played in 77 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has 298 tackles, 9 interceptions (3 returned for TDs), 37 passes defensed, 7 tackles for a loss, 4 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries.  The Falcons got another solid player by simply letting the free agent market play out.  This was a great move for the Falcons.