Atlanta Falcons tight end Tony Gonzalez (88) is tackled by Arizona Cardinals cornerback Jerraud Powers (25) during the first half at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta Falcons star tight end Tony Gonzalez suffered a toe injury in last week’s game against the Seattle Seahawks, and his toe injury became even more concerning when he didn’t practice on Wednesday and Thursday. Gonzalez is an older star in this league, so he is the exception to the rule that players must practice on at least the last day of practice of the week in order to play that week. But still, it’s obviously best for Gonzalez to practice at least once in a week even if he doesn’t necessarily need it. Besides, it’s a lot easier to play the “active/inactive” game with a player like Gonzalez when he has practiced.

Gonzalez was not present during the media-access portion of Falcons practice today, so it was reported that he was absent at practice. When a player misses the media-access portion, then that usually means that he won’t practice at all. A new update from ESPN NFL Nation’s Vaughn McClure, however, states that Gonzalez participated later on in practice, albeit in an expected, limited capacity (the info was given directly from Falcons head coach Mike Smith).

The Falcons face the rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, and having Gonzalez back would be huge for a Falcons team that would definitely like to defeat their one-win rivals. It’s been a rough season for the Falcons, but they opted against trading Gonzalez, who didn’t want to leave Atlanta either. The future Hall of Famer has had over 500 receiving yards and four touchdowns this season, so he can hold his head high on his play.

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