The Falcons may have sent one message at the trade deadline, but the people in the building are saying something else entirely.
Atlanta’s moves this week - dealing safety Jessie Bates III on Monday and center Ryan Neuzil on Tuesday - immediately sparked the idea that the team had shifted into future mode after falling to 3-6. Bates brought back a 2027 NFL Draft second-round pick and a 2028 fifth-rounder, while Neuzil’s departure netted guard Andrew Vorhees and a 2028 sixth-round pick. From the outside, it looked like a clear sign the season was being written off.
Inside the locker room, though, that’s not how it’s being framed.
“I know people outside of here think that we’re just plummeting the season,” Robinson told reporters on Wednesday. “Nah man, we’re focusing on this week, going to take it one game at a time, and go from there. Try to make a push; that’s where we’re at right now.”
Robinson said head coach Kevin Stefanski met with the Falcons’ leadership committee to make sure the room stayed aligned after the deadline deals. The running back said the message landed, and he described the mood in Atlanta as “positive.”
“We’re trying to win regardless, man,” Robinson said. “We understand that we got to make some moves, but it doesn’t [change] the fact that we’re still trying to get to where we want to get to in the season.”
Quarterback Michael Penix Jr. echoed that same tone, even with the Falcons having dropped four of their last five.
“I truly believe that we have the team and the guys that are going to rally and flip the script,” said quarterback Michael Penix Jr. “We got a lot of guys that care.
Not just sitting here, sulking like, ‘We’re at 3-6 right now.’ We have to focus on what’s in front of us.”
And what’s in front of them is still very much a division race. Atlanta sits a half game out of first in the NFC South entering Week 10, with the Carolina Panthers (3-5), New Orleans Saints (3-5), and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-6) all packed into the same crowded picture. Winning the division would send the Falcons to the playoffs for the first time since the 2017-2018 season.
“We’re still in it,” Penix said. “We got an eight-game season left, and we really want to win all eight.”
That’s the strange part of Atlanta’s situation: the standings say the door is open, while the draft board says the Falcons are currently slotted at No. 10 overall and projected by Tankathon to take Georgia linebacker Chris Cole. It’s a split-screen reality, with the front office and the locker room apparently operating on different tracks.
Still, Stefanski brushed off any talk about draft position.
“That’s in no way a focus for me and us,” Stefanski said of Atlanta’s current draft standing. “We talk about long-term, short-term, but that’s not really a focus for us.”
Now the schedule turns back to football. Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs (6-2) visit Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday, followed by the bye week. After that, Atlanta heads to the Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 29 for the “Kirk Cousins Bowl,” then comes home to face the Detroit Lions.
The Falcons have belief. They have urgency.
They also have a front office that just made two deadline moves that point in a different direction. The next stretch will show which version of this team actually takes hold.
In Other News...
Falcons Left Divine Deablo Behind In One Telling Deadline Decision
The Falcons were active sellers before the trade deadline, moving several players on expiring contracts and adding draft picks in return for Jessie Bates III and Ryan Neuzil. It was the kind of move that signaled Atlanta was willing to keep reshaping the roster rather than simply letting the season play out, especially with younger options already starting to push their way into the picture.
Divine Deablo, though, stayed put, and that decision said plenty of its own. League interest never really materialized, with his injury history and recent dip in play working against him, while Kendal Daniels and Harold Perkins Jr. have made the linebacker spot feel a little less essential. For the Falcons, it leaves Deablo in a tricky spot, still on the roster but no longer looking like a piece the team is counting on long term. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Need To Stop Delaying The Michael Penix Jr. Decision
Michael Penix Jr. has already become the center of the Falcons long-term quarterback conversation, and the latest chatter only adds another layer to a decision Atlanta cannot keep putting off. After his recent stretch as the starter, the focus is less on whether the Falcons need a plan and more on whether they are finally ready to commit to one, especially with the franchise still weighing what the position should look like beyond the present.
ESPN analyst Ben Solak floated the idea of Atlanta looking at Seattle quarterback Drew Lock in 2027 as a bridge option, but that kind of thinking only underscores the bigger issue. The Falcons do not need another temporary fix if Penix is the answer, and if he is not, then the organization has to be honest about turning to its 2027 first-round pick instead of stretching the uncertainty out even further. [Read more 🡒]
Falcons Just Said Goodbye To One Of Their Most Respected Leaders
Jessie Bates IIIs departure marks the end of one of the more steadying presences the Falcons had in recent seasons. After 3.5 seasons in Atlanta, where he served as a team captain, Bates was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for 2027 and 2028 draft picks, a move that underscores how much the organization is leaning into a youth movement.
The Falcons have already shown that shift in other ways, including trading Ryan Neuzil and locking in younger players on new contracts. Bates exit leaves a notable leadership void on a defense that valued his experience and voice, and it also adds another layer to a roster reset that is clearly still unfolding. [Read more 🡒]