Another week, another devastating injury for the Atlanta Falcons, this time on the offensive side of the ball.
Starting left guard Andy Levitre was placed on injured reserve Tuesday with a torn triceps suffered against the Carolina Panthers. Levitre is expected to miss the remainder of the season.
Levitre missed Atlanta's postseason run in 2017 with a similar injury.
"Andy worked extremely hard to get back on the field after a similar injury last year, and there is no doubt his leadership will continue to be felt this year," Falcons coach Dan Quinn said, per the team's website. "We have a ton of respect for Andy and what he stands for, and what he means to our team."
Levitre will likely be replaced in the weeks ahead by Wes Schweitzer, who played 49 offensive snaps in Levitre's absence during Atlanta's win on Sunday. Schweitzer, a third-year offensive lineman, started all 18 of the Falcons' games in 2017, but was beaten out at right guard by Brandon Fusco this season.
Levitre's setback comes one week after the Falconsplaced their young defensive leaders Keanu Neal (ACL) and Deion Jones (foot) on injured reserve.
Despite the loss of Levitre for the year, Atlanta's offensive leader is confident the Falcons offense will maintain its pace.
"Well, I think he's come a long way in the handful of years he's been with us," Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan said of Schweitzer. "I know the experience of starting and playing last year is going to help him moving forward for sure. But we have a lot of confidence in him, too. That was a competitive battle up front for those guys and who was going to start. You know, it's disappointing. You never want to see somebody go down, but we're fortunate to have experienced guys that are able to step in there and do a nice job for us."
The Falcons play host to the division rival New Orleans Saints this Sunday.
Here are the other injuries worth monitoring:
- New York Jets safety Marcus Maye (foot), linebacker Josh Martin (concussion) and tight end Neal Sterling (concussion) did not practice on Tuesday. Jets coach Todd Bowles doesn't expect martin or Sterling to play Thursday night against the Cleveland Browns.
- Cleveland Browns defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah (ankle) will not play against the Jets, coach Hue Jackson said.
- The Washington Redskins placed running back Rob Kelley (toe) on injured reserve. Kelley had just eight yards on four carries through two games.
