"Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones, who's been battling a right hamstring injury, will return to practice Thursday, according to coach Mike Smith.

"We anticipate him being out on the practice field tomorrow, " Smith said. "It will be encouraging to see him out practicing and not out working out with our athletic performance department. He's done a nice job in his rehabilitation. So, tomorrow we'll give him an opportunity. If it goes well, we'll progress to Friday and give him back-to-back days of work."

Jones injured his left hamstring against Green Bay on Oct. 9. He missed the Carolina and Detroit games. He came back against Indianapolis on Nov. 6 and caught three passes for 131 yards and scored two touchdowns. He left the New Orleans game with an injured right hamstring. He didn't play last week against Tennessee

Jones has 30 catches for 498 yards and two touchdowns."