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Julio Jones downplays ankle injury: “You’re never going to be 100 percent”

Buccaneers Falcons Football

Tampa Bay Buccaneers free safety Bradley McDougald (30) hits Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones (11) as Jones loses the ball during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

AP

The Falcons came out of yesterday’s loss to the Buccaneers limping, and not just metaphorically.

But their most important player said not to worry about his.

Via Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com, Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones said he was fine after re-injuring his left ankle during the 31-24 loss to the Bucs. It’s the same injury he dealt with in the preseason, but said he’s not worried about it lingering.

“I’m good, though,” Jones said. “You’re never going to be 100 percent anymore. I’ve played through things. It’s nothing that’s going to hold me back from going out there and producing or doing what I do.”

The Falcons didn’t target Jones for the longest time, and he was held to four catches for 66 yards and a touchdown. On a day when partner Mohamed Sanu also left the locker room limping on a sore ankle, that was hard to swallow.

“They just tried to take me away early on in the ballgame,” Jones said. “We expected that, with [Bucs defensive coordinator] Mike Smith and him coaching me, being my head coach. And Dirk Koetter, also. They know what I’m capable of doing. We just knew coming into the game that they were going to do that.

“I feel like I played my position and did my part by drawing coverage. And [Mohamed] Sanu did a heck of a job early on for us.”

It wasn’t enough, and now the Falcons have to wait to see if they’re able to go his way as often as they’d like next week.