Prior to their Week 3 matchup with the Detroit Lions, the Atlanta Falcons had two players return to practice on Friday after being absent earlier in the week.
Running back Cordarrelle Patterson and linebacker Bud Dupree both missed practice on Thursday but were out there Friday, according to Josh Kendall, a sign that they should be able to suit up for the Falcons against the Lions on Sunday.
Patterson is dealing with a thigh injury that kept him off the field for the first two games of the season. It will be interesting to see how the Falcons use Patterson on offense given the emergence of running backs Tyler Allgeier and first-round pick Bijan Robinson. Atlanta plans on still using Patterson as a returner, but he could be more suitable as a receiver for the Falcons on offense this year.
Dupree, who's in his first season with the Falcons, started both games so far before picking up an undisclosed illness this week. He has four tackles in 82 defensive snaps this season.
The Falcons are surprisingly 2-0 after a comeback win over the Green Bay Packers last week. Atlanta trailed by 12 points entering the fourth quarter, only to shut out the Packers and score 13 in the final frame, leaving Week 2 with a 25-24 victory. They defeated the Carolina Panthers in Week 1.
Atlanta travels to Detroit this week for its first road game of the season. Having Cordarrelle Patterson and Bud Dupree in uniform will help the Falcons' cause as they enter the game as three-point underdogs.