While the quarterback news is alarming, the most worrisome update to come out of Atlanta Falocns training camp has been about Bijan Robinson. Bijan was in uniform but failed to take the field in any of the first three practices of training camp as he embarks on his quest for a contract extension.
Rather than holding out and spending time away from the team, the All-Pro back has been holding in. He'll be at practice, but until his market-altering extension gets signed, he won't be on the field, so there's basically only one way for general manager Ian Cunningham to get out of this: pay the man.
Across the last three years, Bijan Robinson has been known to be the perfect franchise player. He is electric on the field and doesn't provide his team headaches, at least he didn't until now. And this entire sage has applied a level of pressure the front office we haven't been accustomed to from him.
The Atlanta Falcons must extend Bijan Robinson as soon as possible
At this point, it's baffling enough that the Falcons haven't extended Bijan yet. I know the rule of thumb in the NFL is that you don't pay running backs big-time money, but this is a sign of the times and the evolution of both the game itself, and a position that is becoming increasingly important in 2026.
The 24-year-old is coming is coming off a year where he led the NFL with nearly 2,300 scrimmage yards and finished as an Offensive Player of the Year finalist. He isn't your ordinary RB: he's an explosive runner, an elite pass-catcher, and once he's in the open field it is basically game over.
While it may sound simple on paper, it really isn't. The issue is that Detroit Lions star Jahmyr Gibbs is also holding in for a new extension, and both of them want to be the highest-paid RB in NFL history. The Dirty Birds will save money by extending BIjan first, but if he signs second, he'll make more.
Both backs are going to sign market-resetting deals, and all this stalemate is doing is just creating more drama. Eventually something's gonna have to give--and the Falcons cannot afford to place themselves in a place where they sever the relationship with Bijan or risk him requesting a trade.
Atlanta has no reason to turn their unproblematic franchise cornerstone into a headache, especially when the main way to end his hold-in is to just pay up. It's not like he doesn't deserve the money they are inevitably going to pay him.
The Falcons' offense cannot afford to lose Bijan Robinson, so this is a situation where they have to listen and end this hold-in before anything gets worse.
Add us as a preferred source on Google