The Falcons have placed guard James Carpenter on IR, as D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (via Twitter). Carpenter has missed the team’s last two contests with a concussion, and Atlanta has decided to play it safe with the 30-year-old vet.

Carpenter, a former first-round pick of the Seahawks, spent the first four years of his career in Seattle and the next four with the Jets. He hooked on with the Falcons shortly after free agency opened this past March, signing a four-year, $21MM pact with the club.

As that contract suggests, Carpenter has generally been a serviceable player, but not a great one. The Alabama product started all 11 games in which he appeared this year before succumbing to the concussion, but he has yielded four sacks (tied for 13th-most in the league) and has committed seven penalties (tied for sixth-most). Advanced metrics are also not fond of his work this year.

However, he has started 108 out of a possible 114 games in his career with three different teams, so he must be doing something right. The Falcons focused heavily on their O-line in the draft this year, and since they wouldn’t save a ton of money against the cap by cutting Carpenter, it seems as though he’ll be back in 2020 while Atlanta addresses areas of more pressing concern.

In a corresponding move, the Falcons signed OL Sean Harlow.