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Injuries can creep into the picture in the NFL before the regular season even begins.

Just ask the Buccaneers, who will be without two of their most important players in LT Tristan Wirfs and WR Chris Godwin. Atlanta was also facing some injury issues.

The most notable was the loss of their RT Kaleb McGary, who suffered an injury in practice and will be sidelined for the entire 2025-26 campaign. To make matters worse for the Falcons, reliable veteran receiver Darnell Mooney had been limited in practice with a shoulder injury leading up to their first game of the season and was expected to be a game-time decision.

Well, now that it’s game time, news has broke regarding Mooney’s status for this contest. An hour and a half before kickoff, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Mooney would be inactive for the team’s matchup against the Buccaneers. It’s a significant loss for the Falcons, who rely on Mooney’s field stretching abilities for big plays.

Although Darnell Mooney may not be viewed as a star player by most, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers should absolutely hold him in that regard after how he torched them last season. In the first meeting between the Bucs and Falcons in 2024, Mooney had 9 catches on 16 targets for 105 yards and 2 TDs.