Gonzalez Wants to Remain with the Falcons Amid Growing Injury List

After deciding to play one more season in hopes of landing at the Super Bowl, Atlanta Falcons (1-4) tight end Tony Gonzalez isn’t exactly getting what he signed up for in this 2013 season. But he wants to remain with the team.

Tony Gonzalez

Rumors had been circulating Tuesday on Twitter that Gonzalez would be traded by the Falcons. Giving up on the season as they sit at 1-4, by trading the veteran player, it would have given them some 2014 draft picks.

The team has said they do not have an interest to trade Gonzalez and on Tuesday, FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer tweeted of the player, “I’ve seen a lot of tweets w rumors that Falcons should trade Tony Gonzalez, just got off the phone w him he absolutely does NOT want that. Wants to finish up in ATL.”

You can’t help but wonder how the story could end if Gonzalez got traded to his former team, the Kansas City Chiefs who sit at 5-0, and appear headed for postseason while the Falcons do not. At age 37, it would be hard to imagine Gonzalez learning a new offense and building rapport with a second quarterback.

But for now, the likelihood of the Falcons snapping their three-game losing steak doesn’t look good.

Julio Jones

Wide receiver Julio Jones is battling a potential season-ending foot injury. In Tuesday’s Falcons press conference, head coach Mike Smith said that it was “premature” to say Jones was out for the season; he will receive a second medical opinion on Wednesday.

Smith added via ESPN, “I don’t want to get into the specifics about what foot it is. He did injure his foot last night and was able to complete the game. He had a test this morning and is going for a second opinion tomorrow. The first diagnosis was not that encouraging.”

From Monday’s game against the New York Jets (3-2), the player had eight catches for 99 yards. Through five games, Jones had an NFL-leading 41 catches for 580 yards with two touchdowns.

For the Falcons, the loss of Jones would be a major blow but it may get worse: he could be joined by his fellow receiver Roddy White, on the bench.

Also from Monday’s game, White suffered a hamstring injury and sat out for most of the fourth quarter. The team is taking a wait-and-see approach for him and fortunately they’ll have some extra time as they have a much-needed bye week for this upcoming weekend.

Their next game will be on Oct. 20 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-4).

Smith said on Tuesday via the team’s website, “…Roddy did injure his hamstring last night and wasn’t able to return to the game. Saw him this morning and spoke with him this morning, and we will have to see how that thing turns around over the next few days.” 

One league source did say to the National Football Post’s Jason Cole that the wide receiver is “probably 50-50” to play in the Buccaneers games. Should he not play, White would end his 132-game streak from his nine years in the league.

Roddy White

He has been teetering on ending it as he earlier suffered a high-ankle sprain in August. Questions had been raised on whether he returned to play too soon.

Should the Falcons receiver duo sit together on the bench in Week 7, look for Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan to toss passes to Kevin Cone, Drew Davis and Harry Douglas. What a difference three months can make.

As for the team’s running back Steven Jackson, who’s been out since Week 2 with a hamstring injury, there’s still hope he’ll suit up and play against the Buccaneers.

Sorry Falcons fans and Tony Gonzalez, the team sits at 40/1 to win the 2014 Super Bowl while their divisional foe, the New Orleans Saints (5-0), are 6/1.