A depleted Atlanta Falcons defense suffered yet another blow.
Safety Ricardo Allen suffered a season-ending torn Achilles in Sunday's overtime loss to the New Orleans Saints, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported, via a source informed of the situation.
Allen, who signed a three-year contract extension during the offseason, went down early in the extra period and was carted off the field.
The Falcons must now deal with the loss of Allen in addition to already having linebacker Deion Jones (knee) and safety Keanu Neal (knee) on injured reserve. Atlanta also played Sunday's game without defensive end Takk McKinley, who was inactive with a groin injury.
The absence of Allen and Neal on the back end of coverage entering Week 4 leaves the Falcons with safeties Damontae Kazee, who replaced Neal, Jordan Richards and Keith Tandy on the active 53-player roster.
The Falcons are likely to concentrate on finding a safety through free agency to bolster depth. But being without Jones, who is arguably the team's top defensive player, and now losing two starting safeties this early in the season will affect the defensive production the rest of the way.
Atlanta comes off a 2017 season where the Falcons ranked ninth in total defense, and Neal and Allen were major contributors. Neal finished second on the team in tackles behind Jones, while Allen finished sixth.