Critical Notes

Injured Warrick Dunn may be ready for Week 1 of the NFL regular season. (AI Wire photo)

The Atlanta Falcons have been one of the NFL’s top rushing teams in the past two seasons. Good luck to them keeping up the pace.

The Falcons revealed Wednesday that running back Warrick Dunn will miss three to four weeks after having back surgery. Dunn, who rushed for a team-high 1,140 yards last year, hurt his back during offseason workouts and had the surgery on Saturday. The team held off revealing the news while it dealt with the federal indictment of quarterback Michael Vick on charges related to dogfighting.

Vick, indicted last week, was barred from training camp by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell while the league looks into possible violations of its new personal conduct policy. Meanwhile, the Falcons have another major hole to fill during the preseason while Dunn recovers.

“I felt some discomfort in my back and legs that just never subsided,” Dunn said in a statement released by the team. “After consulting with the medical staff, it was recommended that we have the surgery.”

If the 32-year-old Dunn needs a full month to recover, he would miss all of training camp and the first two preseason games. But he should be back in time for the Sept. 9 opener at Minnesota. Jerious Norwood, who rushed for 633 yards in his rookie season, will move up to the first team while Dunn is out.

Dunn has five 1,000-yard seasons in his 10-year career. He has 9,461 rushing yards, which is third among active NFL backs. While he is still scheduled to start the season, back surgery is not a prosperous sign for an aging back. And without Vick, the best running quarterback in football, the Falcons offense could be in a nosedive this season.

In other NFL training camp news on Wednesday:

• Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs agreed to a one-year, $7.2-million contract as the Chicago Bears’ franchise player. Unhappy when he was initially given the tag, Briggs had threatened to sit out the season but reached an agreement one day before the Bears are to report to training camp. The deal came together after the Bears agreed to not put the franchise tag on Briggs in 2008 and give the linebacker a $1-million advance, agent Drew Rosenhaus said.
• The Philadelphia Eagles signed quarterback Kevin Kolb, their second-round pick, to a four-year deal. Kolb, the Eagles’ first pick in the April draft, threw for 3,809 yards and 30 touchdowns his senior year at Houston, earning Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year honors. He could be a successor to Donovan McNabb. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

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