NFC South Notes: Falcons, Panthers, Saints

Falcons

Falcons HC Dan Quinn said S Kemal Ishmael will be Keanu Neal‘s primary replacement going forward and plans to involve him on a “good bit” of their packages. 

“Kemal Ishmael has been our backup strong safety, he’ll certainly be involved in a good bit of the packages,” Quinn said, via D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlante Journal-Constitution. “As we get into third downs and two-minute defense we’ll probably have some more variety.”

Ishmael said there are “some changes” to the Falcons’ starting defense that he is learning. 

“Definitely, but there are some changes,” Ishmael said. “There are some new wrinkles. This is always going to be a learning process. You just have to always be ready.”

Panthers

• According to Joseph Person of the Athletic, Panthers LB Bruce Irvin says he’s definitely playing this week. Irvin missed the first three games with a hamstring injury. 
• Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer says there’s little risk of a quarterback controversy between Kyle Allen and Cam Newton when the latter returns to 100 percent health. 
• Panthers DT Gerald McCoy missed practice with what was listed as a knee injury, however, Panthers HC Ron Rivera says it was more of a precautionary vet day for McCoy. (Jourdan Rodrigue)

Saints

• According to ESPN’s Mike Triplett, Saints QB Drew Brees explained that he had an internal brace inserted during surgery on his thumb with the goal of expediting his recovery: “It’s something that immediately gives it strength and stability, [which] allows you to start rehabbing right away. You don’t have to be immobilized or be in a cast.” 
• Brees expressed optimism he could be back ahead of the six to eight-week timetable that’s typical for this type of injury: “As far as the timetable for getting back though, they say 6 to 8 weeks. I think I can beat that, but I’m just gonna take it one week at a time and see how things go.” (WWL Radio)
• Saints QB Teddy Bridgewater doesn’t expect the team’s gameplan to be as conservative as it was against Seattle going forward: “I’m pretty sure, last week as well, given the circumstances we wanted to try to cut back on some things with all the crowd noise. Being back home, being able to do our own cadence, we can do more.” (Pro Football Talk)Field Yates reports that the Saints recently reworked the contract of G Larry Walford and in turn created $2.75 million of cap space. According to Yates, the Saints accomplished this by converting $5.5 million of Warford’s base salary into a signing bonus.