The Atlanta Falcons spent the trade deadline acting like a team willing to move pieces, but there was one line they were never going to cross: Bijan Robinson.
Atlanta did ship out Jessie Bates III to Jacksonville for a major return and sent Ryan Neuzil to Baltimore, making it clear the Falcons were open for business on players tied to expiring deals. But even with that kind of movement, the front office never seriously entertained the idea of dealing Robinson or Drake London.
Still, that didn’t stop teams from trying. On a post-deadline episode of Breaking Big Blue, ESPN’s Jordan Raanan said the New York Giants made a call on Robinson while hunting for help at several spots.
"The Giants tried hard though," Raanan said. "They made calls on Jeffery Simmons.
They made calls on Jonathan Taylor. DeForest Buckner.
I even heard the Giants made a call on Bijan Robinson. That’s right.
Bijan Robinson. So they were certainly big game hunting, but at the same time for most of these deals, they weren’t going to overextend, and a big part of that is they’re not flush with picks right now."
That pursuit went nowhere fast. Ian Cunningham apparently didn’t need much time to shut that down, because the Falcons were never in the business of moving their most important offensive player.
Atlanta may be sitting at 3-6, but that doesn’t mean the team is waving the white flag. And trading away the centerpiece of the offense would have done far more than weaken the roster - it would have sent a brutal message to the fanbase.
The idea of the Giants landing Robinson was always a long shot. He’s 24 years old, one of the highest-paid backs in NFL history, and the kind of player teams dream about building around, not acquiring in a deadline panic. The comparison here is almost comical: this was the NFL version of taking a wild swing that had no real chance of connecting.
That’s not to say teams don’t make those calls. They do, especially when the deadline gets chaotic and front offices start testing the market on players they already know are likely unavailable. But this one was never going to move.
The price would have been massive anyway. The Giants were reportedly unwilling to give up more than a second and a fifth for Jonathan Taylor, and Robinson is younger and under contract through 2030. That kind of profile would have demanded at least two first-round picks, and possibly more.
Even then, the Falcons would have had to seriously reconsider whether it was worth breaking up the offense’s foundation. Robinson is the engine of the unit, a player who does much more than carry the ball. Moving him would have made Michael Penix Jr.’s job much harder in a key evaluation year and would have undercut the offensive identity Atlanta wants to build.
In the end, there doesn’t seem to have been much of a debate at all inside the building. Robinson is too important, too valuable and too central to what the Falcons are trying to become. The Giants could call, and apparently they did, but Atlanta was never going to answer with anything other than no.
In Other News...
Falcons Defense Faces A Brutal Mahomes Problem This Week
Patrick Mahomes spent the week listed with an elbow strain and sprain, but he practiced fully and is expected to be out there in Week 10 when the Falcons meet the Chiefs. For Atlanta, that changes the conversation from whether Kansas City might be shorthanded to how much damage Mahomes can still do even while working through an injury, especially against a defense that has to be ready for the speed and rhythm of the Chiefs passing game.
The challenge gets even trickier because Kansas City does not need to lean on one thing to move the ball. Kenneth Walker III gives the Chiefs a strong ground element, while Mahomes and the passing attack can still stress a defense with quick throws and yards after the catch. For the Falcons, the problem is less about one matchup and more about surviving the full menu of what Kansas City can throw at them. [Read more 🡒]
Chiefs Bring Kicker Drama Into Falcons Game With Bigger Question Looming
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Andy Reid is keeping Butker in the lineup for now, even as the Chiefs have added Justin Tucker to the practice squad and left the door open to a possible shakeup later. For the Falcons, it is the kind of subplot worth watching from afar, because a team that has been steady enough to keep its footing in the standings could still end up facing a very different kicking picture before long. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Just Opened A Huge Opportunity For DeMarcco Hellams
Jessie Bates IIIs move to Jacksonville leaves a clear opening in the Falcons secondary, and it puts DeMarcco Hellams in the spotlight at a time when Atlanta is looking hard at its younger defensive backs. With the veteran safety gone, the coaching staff has already pointed to Hellams as the next man expected to step in, giving the former rookie a chance to turn a limited role into something much bigger down the stretch.
For Hellams, the timing matters. He is in the final year of his rookie contract and has seen only limited defensive work this season, but the vacancy at safety changes the conversation around his place on the roster. Atlanta now has a real reason to see what it has in him, and the next stretch of games could go a long way toward showing whether he can handle a larger defensive workload. [Read more 🡒]