Devonta Freeman can’t be touched in practice

Carolina Panthers v Atlanta Falcons

Falcons running back Devonta Freeman was the man in black Wednesday at practice.

According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Freeman wore the black non-contact jersey. Tevin Coleman is expected to miss Sunday’s home game against the Packers with a hamstring injury. The Falcons had to promote Terron Ward from the practice squad and sign Stevan Ridley off the street Tuesday.

With their situation so dire at running back, the Falcons don’t want Freeman injured in practice so they aren’t taking any chances.

Freeman leads the Falcons with 508 rushing yards and has run for two touchdowns. Coleman has run for 234 yards, but has five rushing touchdowns and is averaging 17.4 yards per reception on 19 catches. Freeman has caught 22 passes with an average of 7.7 yards per reception.

Freeman and Coleman have worked as a tandem, and Matt Ryan is the only other Falcon with any rushing yards this season. Freeman will have to do it all by himself Sunday. The Falcons (4-3) have lost two straight and are hearing whispers of a slide similar to last year, when they started 6-1 and finished 8-8.

So they’re putting Freeman in a bubble to decrease the chances of that happening again.

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