FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- It doesn't appear the Falcons (5-9) will bring a second player off of IR this season, as coach Dan Quinn told "The Morning Show with John and Hugh" on 92.9 The Game that running back Devonta Freeman would not return to action this year.
"He won't make it back in the next couple of weeks," Quinn said. "We were always keeping that option available with him to return, depending on how we finished and where we'd go. But now that we have a sense that he wouldn't make it back in the next few days to get the practice reps needed to play, he won't make it back."
Freeman was placed on IR prior to the team's Week 7 matchup against the New York Giants due to a foot injury; he would have been eligible to come off of IR this week for the Falcons' final two games. The fifth-year running back played in two games this season, carrying the ball 14 times for 68 yards.
With Freeman done for the remainder of the year, Tevin Coleman, who carried the ball 11 times for a career-high 145 yards and a touchdown in the win against the Arizona Cardinals, will continue to fill the No. 1 running back role. Behind him, however, the Falcons will use a mix of Brian Hill and Jeremy Langford as rookie running back Ito Smith was placed on IR this week.
