It was the same shoulder he injured last season, which led him to missing the Falcons’ Week 18 overtime loss to the Carolina Panthers.
Mooney signed with the Falcons last offseason and went on to total 64 receptions for 992 yards and five touchdowns. Of his 16 starts, the first 14 were with Kirk Cousins and the final two were with Michael Penix Jr. The Falcons switched their starting quarterback in Week 16, and Penix has been their QB1 ever since.
A big goal for Penix in the lead-up to his second season overall and first as the starter was to build a stronger connection with his wide receivers. Even though Mooney missed all but one day of training camp, neither is worried about their chemistry. They spent a lot of the offseason together, and they’ve built in extra time even this week.
“Any opportunity I can, I get some throws with him,” Penix said. “That’s the biggest thing. We’ve got special teams period. If I’m not doing anything, I call him over, get some throws with him. Just so that we can continue to stay on point with that. And obviously, I feel like we had a really good offseason. So, I don’t feel like it’ll be a setback or anything like that.”
Robinson has contingency plans in place if so, such as wide receiver Casey Washington, who stepped up while Mooney was absent in the preseason. But even Robinson thought Mooney has looked good in practice this week, running well and catching the ball.
No one seems all that concerned. More so, the Falcons are being precautious in the lead-up to Sunday’s game.
“We’ve got a chance to wait up until that last minute,” Morris said. “Hopefully, we’ll get a chance to see one of our better players out there.”