A sore right hamstring won't keep Julio Jones out of the Atlanta Falcons' Thursday night matchup against the New Orleans Saints, although it could keep his snap count down, according to Tiffany Blackmon of NFL Media.
Julio Jones will play on Thursday, but snaps could be limited
The Falcons will play Jones on Thursday, but they will “monitor his pitch count” to avoid further injury.
Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports
Jones has been dealing with a right hamstring injury since Week 1, and he also injured his toes in Week 4 against the Texans. He's been a regular on the team's injury report all season and has been held out of multiple practices, including sessions on Monday and Tuesday.
A Falcons team source told Blackmon that the team will “monitor his pitch count” during the game to avoid causing further damage to his hamstring.
There was some concern as to whether Jones would be able to play Week 5 against Washington, but he did wind up taking the field and caught five balls for 67 yards in the Falcons’ 25-19 win. After the game, he told ESPN’s Josina Anderson that he “felt great” and that he planned on fighting through the injury.
“I know you can’t play this game 100 percent,” Jones said, via ESPN. “It’s very rare that you can be able to play this game at 100 percent. You can do one thing. You can’t do both. You can’t pray and then worry at the same time. I pray, and that’s it. And then I just go play. Whatever happens, happens.”
But on Tuesday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that there was doubt as to if Jones would be able to play Thursday against the Saints due to his injured hamstring. With the Falcons at 5-0, Jones is willing to press through the soreness, according to Blackmon.
“Look it’s Week 6, everybody is beat up, sore,” the source told Blackmon. “You may see him out there holding the hamstring, but Julio feels they’ve got something special going right now. They are 5-0 and want to pull as far away from the Saints as they can.”
Jones made similar comments after practice on Tuesday, despite not participating.
“My leg will have to be off or something for me not to play,” Jones said. “Everybody’s playing hurt. It’s the NFL.”
On the season, Jones has caught four touchdowns and a league-high 43 balls. He's totaled 545 yards in receiving, second in the NFL behind only DeAndre Hopkins.
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