There has been speculation for the past few days that Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones would miss the remainder of the regular season after suffering a foot injury during Monday’s contest against the New York Jets. The Falcons confirmed the news yesterday, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com reported that Jones will undergo season-ending surgery next week.

Confirmed. Julio Jones is out for the year. We will have a statement from Coach Smith shortly.
— Atlanta_Falcons (@Atlanta_Falcons) October 9, 2013

Source: Julio Jones will have surgery next week following a second opinion on his foot. Out for the season.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 9, 2013

Jones received a second opinion after the initial diagnosis had him missing the remainder of the current campaign. The second look wasn’t any better, as tests confirmed that the injury Jones had suffered would keep him out for the season.

While there are few non-quarterback players that can truly make or break a team, this is a HUGE loss for the Falcons. Considering Atlanta’s 1-4 start and fellow wide out Roddy White’s struggles, the passing game was going through Jones and tight end Tony Gonzalez. The burden will now be heaped on Gonzalez and the Falcons’ other receivers with Jones out and while White recovers.