The Atlanta Falcons have released wide receiver Leonard Hankerson from injured reserve.
Hankerson’s release makes him available via waivers and will lead to him being a free agent if he goes unclaimed.
The Falcons only recently placed Hankerson on IR and after two weeks he is now available to play for another team after being medically cleared. The move leaves all sorts of questions for an offense who has scored only 39 points over the last three weeks.
In his eight games this season Hankerson caught 26 passes for 327 yards and three touchdowns while operating as the No. 2 wideout behind Julio Jones.
The former Washington Redskins player has appeared in all 16 games just once during his career, that being back in 2012. Given his ability and a glut of teams needing receivers he could quickly find a new home on the free agent market.
Meanwhile the Falcons will almost surely have to target wide receivers in the upcoming draft and/or free agency. Jones remains an elite NFL talent but the play of Roddy White has dramatically fallen off. Hankerson’s inability to remain healthy cost him a good shot of being a compliment to Jones in the Falcons passing attack.
