The Washington Redskins will be without four starters when they play in an NFC battle with the Atlanta Falcons this Sunday at the Georgia Dome.

Redskins head coach Jay Gruden on Friday afternoon announced that wide receiver DeSean Jackson (hamstring), cornerback Chris Culliver (knee), tight end Jordan Reed (concussion/knee/ankle) and cornerback DeAngelo Hall (toe) have all officially been ruled out of Sunday's game against the Falcons in Atlanta.

Jackson has been out since suffering a hamstring injury in the first quarter of the Redskins' season opening loss to the Miami Dolphins.

He returned to practice this week for the first time, albeit in limited action, but the coaching staff insisted not to rush the speedster back to action.

"You know, it's something that we can't rush him back because we don't want this thing to be a reoccurring, reoccurring incident," Gruden told reporters earlier this week.

Culliver, meanwhile, gutted out a performance against the Philadelphia Eagles in which Gruden admitted it was clear he wasn't 100 percent, but the University of South Carolina product had not practiced at all during the week.

He had an MRI this week that showed no structural damage to his knee.

"No damage, just some things that he's got to deal with from a pain standpoint," Gruden said. "We're trying to get it alleviated but we don't know how long that will be."

Reed, meanwhile, has been going through the league's concussion protocol all week after suffering one during the Redskins' 90-yard, game-winning drive Sunday against the Eagles.

In the third-year tight end's absence, the team will look to Derek Carrier to at least shoulder some of the pass-catching responsibilities from the position.

Through four games this season, Carrier, who was acquired through a trade with the San Francisco 49ers in August, has recorded four receptions for 26 yards.

The team also has Anthony McCoy at their disposal and could use tackle Tom Compton in some situations at tight end, too, if active.

As for Hall, the veteran out of Virginia Tech did not practice this week but appears to be close to a return to the field.

"He's slowly progressing," Gruden said on Thursday. "He's actually coming along a lot better than we thought."

Linebacker Perry Riley Jr. (calf) is the only player listed as questionable for the Redskins this week.

The six-year veteran has missed the last two games, but is hopeful to return from an injury that can impact any player's mobility.

"It was hard for me to burst," Riley Jr. said of the injury. "It was a calf injury, so every step you take, first muscle that fires is your calf and it was just hard for me to press off and boost off of it. And it's kind of hard to play linebacker and moving off what your opponent is doing when you don't have any calf muscle."

Wide receiver Pierre Garcon (knee), defensive end Kedric Golston (hand), linebacker Ryan Kerrigan (hip), center/guard Josh LeRibeus (calf), center Kory Lichtensteiger (finger), guard Spencer Long (ankle) and linebacker Trent Murphy (hip) were all full participants throughout practice this week.

Of the group, only Golston was inactive last week.

The Falcons announced on Friday that rookie running back Tevin Coleman (ribs) is probable while linebacker Justin Durant (elbow) is out of Sunday's game. 

RELATED LINKS:
-- Perry Riley Jr. Eager To Return From Calf Injury
-- What They're Saying: Atlanta Falcons

.

.

.