In the good news department: Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez and John Abraham all returned to practice on Thursday. In the bad news department: not everyone returned. Linebackers Curtis Lofton and Coy Wire and running back Jason Snelling led the list of Atlanta Falcon players who did not practice on Thursday in preparation for their Week 14 game against the Carolina Panthers.
Lofton, who had made it a ritual of sitting out Wednesday's practice before returning on Thursday, was the biggest surprise no-show and has caused me more than a little concern. Snelling is a likely candidate to be held out again this week to let his hamstring fully heal before the Week 16 showdown with the New Orleans Saints.
The rest of the Falcons returned to full practice and are expected to play as the Falcons try to win 11 games for only the fourth time in team history. The full reports, courtesy of the official site, are below.
Did Not Practice
LB Coy Wire (head)
LB Curtis Lofton (knee)
RB Jason Snelling (hamstring)
Panthers
CB Captain Munnerlyn
CB Chris Gamble (hamstring)
LB Jon Beason (knee)
LB Nic Harris (head)
T Travelle Wharton (toe)
Full Practice
DE John Abraham (groin)
DE Kroy Biermann (ankle)
DT Jonathan Babineaux (shoulder)
G Harvey Dahl (knee)
RB Antone Smith (hamstring)
TE Tony Gonzalez (ankle)
WR Roddy White (knee)
Panthers
LB Jason Williams (knee)
DT Ed Johnson (knee)
RB Tyrell Sutton (ankle)
S Marcus Hudson (ankle)