Falcons lose starting WR Darnell Mooney for several weeks with shoulder injury and sign D.J. Chark

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Darnell Mooney's status for the start of the season is uncertain as the Atlanta Falcons' second-leading receiver in 2024 is expected to miss several weeks of training camp with a shoulder injury.

Mooney suffered the injury in Thursday's first practice of training camp.

The Falcons bolstered their depth chart at wide receiver by signing veteran D.J. Chark Jr., who joined the team for Saturday's practice. Chark worked out for the Falcons on Friday.

“That workout was already set up,” assistant general manager Kyle Smith said Saturday, referring to the visit from Chark being scheduled before Mooney's injury.

Smith said Mooney's injury is “part of the deal” and the front office is “always ready to find solutions and add to the roster whenever we can.”

Smith provided no details on the severity of Mooney's injury.

Chark, 29, began the 2024 season on injured reserve with a hip injury and was limited to four catches for 31 yards with one touchdown in seven games with the Los Angeles Chargers.

A second-round draft pick by Jacksonville in 2018, Chark set career highs with 73 catches for 1,008 yards and eight touchdowns for the Jaguars in 2019. Following four seasons with Jacksonville, Chark played for Detroit in 2022 and Carolina in 2023.

Mooney had 64 catches for 992 yards and five touchdowns in 2024. Drake London led the team with 100 receptions for 1,271 yards and nine touchdowns.

London drew a big cheer from more than 4,000 fans when he made a one-handed sideline catch early in the practice.

London, Mooney and Ray-Ray McCloud III opened training camp as Atlanta's top wide receivers. KhaDarel Hodge returns as a top backup after starting two games last season.

The injury will force Mooney to miss valuable practice time with second-year quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who is entering his first full season as the starter following a three-game audition to close the 2024 season.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank, who is entering his 24th season since buying the team in 2002, acknowledged that a streak of seven consecutive losing seasons has been difficult to endure.

Blank, 82, said he believes the 2025 team is ready to win with second-year coach Raheem Morris and Penix following an 8-9 finish last season.

“It's been a difficult seven years, certainly for our fans and for me,” Blank said.

He recalled his first training camp at Furman University when former coach Dan Reeves provided cautionary words.

“I remember the first practices I went to seeing a lot of these young men running around,” Blank said. “My vision was every one of these guys was going to be an All-Pro. Coach Reeves said to me, ‘Well you’ve got to see them in pads.’”

Added Blank: “I’m still impatient to win. I’m a very competitive guy. ... Aspirations haven’t changed.”

Morris showed on the second day of camp that he will follow through on his promise to limit the early work for some veterans returning from injuries.

Tight end Kyle Pitts, returning from a foot injury, worked for about half of Saturday's practice while right tackle Kaleb McGary, who had an offseason arthroscopic procedure on his ankle, was held out.

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Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris, right, speaks with coach T. J. Lang during a Atlanta Falcons training camp, Saturday, July 26, 2025, in Flowery Branch. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver David Sills V (87) works out during a Atlanta Falcons training camp, Saturday, July 26, 2025, in Flowery Branch. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Atlanta Falcons DJ Chark Jr. works out during a Atlanta Falcons training camp, Saturday, July 26, 2025, in Flowery Branch. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Assistant General Manager Kyle Smith speaks during an Atlanta Falcons training camp, Saturday, July 26, 2025, in Flowery Branch. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Assistant General Manager Kyle Smith speaks during an Atlanta Falcons training camp, Saturday, July 26, 2025, in Flowery Branch. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

FILE - Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney (1) runs the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Danny Karnik,File)

Assistant General Manager Kyle Smith speaks during an Atlanta Falcons training camp, Saturday, July 26, 2025, in Flowery Branch. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver David Sills V (87) works out during practice at the team's NFL football camp, Saturday, July 26, 2025, in Flowery Branch, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Atlanta Falcons Owner Arthur Blank speaks during a Atlanta Falcons training camp, Saturday, July 26, 2025, in Flowery Branch. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris, right, speaks with coach T. J. Lang during a Atlanta Falcons training camp, Saturday, July 26, 2025, in Flowery Branch. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver David Sills V (87) works out during a Atlanta Falcons training camp, Saturday, July 26, 2025, in Flowery Branch. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Atlanta Falcons DJ Chark Jr. works out during a Atlanta Falcons training camp, Saturday, July 26, 2025, in Flowery Branch. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Assistant General Manager Kyle Smith speaks during an Atlanta Falcons training camp, Saturday, July 26, 2025, in Flowery Branch. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Assistant General Manager Kyle Smith speaks during an Atlanta Falcons training camp, Saturday, July 26, 2025, in Flowery Branch. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

FILE - Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Darnell Mooney (1) runs the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Danny Karnik,File)

NAKHON RATCHASIMA, Thailand (AP) — A new construction accident on a road near Thailand's capital, Bangkok, was reported on Thursday, just 24 hours after a construction crane fell on a moving passenger train in the country's northeast, killing at least 32 people.

There was no immediate official confirmation of deaths in Thursday’s accident, but the Facebook page of Fire & Rescue Thailand, which covers the activities of volunteer firefighters and rescue workers, said at least one person was killed.

The accident occurred at the site of an elevated road construction project.

Meanwhile, the search for survivors from Wednesday’s train accident in Nakhon Ratchasima province has ended, said provincial governor Anuphong Suksomnit. Officials said three passengers listed as missing were presumed to have gotten off the train earlier, but that was still being investigated.

Officials believed there had been 171 people aboard the train’s three carriages, which were being removed from the scene on Thursday.

The latest accident on the outskirts of Bangkok saw a construction crane collapse on the Rama 2 Road elevated expressway in Samut Sakhon province at around 9 a.m., according to the government's Public Relations Department, which added that two vehicles were trapped in the wreckage, which included massive metal girders.

Rescue operations were underway, the statement added.

The construction project, an extension of the Rama 2 Road expressway — a major artery leading from Bangkok — has become notorious in recent years for construction accidents, some of them fatal.

At the train accident scene in Nakhon Ratchasima, work to remove the wreckage continued Thursday, after search and rescue operations concluded Wednesday night. The accident saw a falling crane derail and crush parts of the train under it.

The authorities said the crane that fell was a launching gantry crane, a mobile piece of equipment often used in building elevated roadways.

Narongsak Promta, the provincial police chief of Nakhon Ratchasima, told reporters at the site that police are working to verify the status of all passengers to determine the status of the three people listed as missing.

He said police are still collecting evidence and interviewing relevant parties and have not yet pressed charges against any party.

South Korea's Foreign Ministry reported that one South Korean national, a man in his late 30s, was among the dead. The ministry is providing consular services to the bereaved family.

The two-stage high-speed rail project on which the accident occurred has a total investment cost of more than 520 billion baht ($16.8 billion) and is associated with an ambitious plan to connect China with Southeast Asia under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.

In August 2024, a railway tunnel on the planned route, also in Nakhon Ratchasima, collapsed, killing three workers.

Anan Phonimdaeng, acting governor of the State Railway of Thailand, said the project’s contractor is Italian-Thai Development, with a Chinese company responsible for design and construction supervision.

A statement posted on the website of the company, also known as Italthai, expressed condolences to the victims and said the company would take responsibility for paying compensation to the families of the dead and hospitalization expenses for the injured.

The rail accident sparked outrage because Italthai was also the co-lead contractor for the State Audit Building in Bangkok that collapsed during construction in March last year during a major earthquake.

About 100 people were killed in the collapse, which was the only major structure in Thailand to suffer such serious damage. Dozens of executives were indicted in connection with the disaster but none have yet been tried.

The involvement of Chinese companies in both projects has also drawn attention, as has Italthai and Chinese companies’ involvement in the construction of several expressway extensions in and around Bangkok where several accidents, some fatal, have occurred.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Wednesday the government was aware of the reports about the rail accident and had expressed condolences.

It was not immediately clear which companies were involved in Thursday's road construction accident.

Associated Press writers Wasamon Audjarint in Bangkok and Hyung-jin Kim in Seoul contributed to this report.

Forensic workers inspect the site of a train accident, a day after a construction crane fell into a passenger train in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

A cuddly toy lies on the ground at the site of a train accident, a day after a construction crane fell into a passenger train in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

A construction crane that collapsed on the Rama 2 Road elevated expressway in Samut Sakhon province, Thailand on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Arnun Chonmahatrakool)

A construction crane that collapsed on the Rama 2 Road elevated expressway in Samut Sakhon province, Thailand on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Arnun Chonmahatrakool)

A construction crane that collapsed on the Rama 2 Road elevated expressway in Samut Sakhon province, Thailand on Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Arnun Chonmahatrakool)