FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones, who suffered a calf strain in last week's 35-28 victory over the Oakland Raiders, was held out of practice Thursday.
Coach Dan Quinn initially said Jones would be limited upon returning to the practice field. Despite the change in status, Quinn expressed little concern about Jones' availability for Monday night's matchup against the New Orleans Saints (ESPN, 8:30 p.m. ET).
"He's making good progress as we're going," Quinn said of Jones. "He was able to participate in some of the walkthrough to get moving around. We kind of see his arrow just keeping going up as the week goes. He was definitely sore coming out of the game on Sunday night and into Monday, so having the extra day this week has been a real plus for him, no doubt about it."
Jones walked around the practice field Thursday as an observer, another positive sign regarding his status. When Jones previously suffered a left ankle injury, he was not on the field during practice, apparently getting treatment instead.
Fellow wide receiver Mohamed Sanu, who injured an ankle in the season opener, also was held out. Linebacker De'Vondre Campbell was nowhere to be seen. He's recovering from an ankle injury suffered last week in practice that forced him to miss the Oakland game. Defensive lineman Ra'Shede Hageman was out with an illness. And defensive end Dwight Freeney had his typical veteran day off Thursday, just a day later as a result of the Monday game.
First-round draft pick Keanu Neal, the strong safety from Florida, returned to practice for the first time since having arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in the preseason. Quinn said Neal would be limited, but sounded optimistic about a possible return for the rookie Monday night. However, there's no guarantee Neal will play.
"We're proud of the way he aggressively attacked his rehab after the injury," Quinn said of Neal. "So he's definitely champing at the bit. We're going to take it through the next three days and see how he progresses, see how he performs, where his conditioning is, and then we will make the determination at the end of the week. But all signs are pointing to good things for him heading into today."
If Neal is unable to go, Kemal Ishmael would remain in the starting lineup at strong safety coming off a 15-tackle performance. Ishmael was limited himself Thursday coming off a shoulder injury.
Quinn confirmed inside linebacker Paul Worrilow had groin-related surgery, but the coach did not put a timetable on Worrilow's return. To compensate for the loss, Quinn said he moved veteran Philip Wheeler from strongside linebacker back to inside linebacker.
Newly re-signed O'Brien Schofield will step back into a Sam linebacker role along with Vic Beasley Jr. Schofield, who was on the practice field Thursday, said he felt good enough to play Monday night but would wait and see how things play out.
To make room for Schofield on the roster, the Falcons waived running back Terron Ward.
In other injury news, defensive end Brooks Reed was on the practice field coming off a shoulder injury and was limited. Also limited were wide receiver Justin Hardy (shoulder) and nose tackle Grady Jarrett (elbow).
Defensive tackle Tyson Jackson (heel) had full participation in practice.
