During the NFL trade deadline, the Atlanta Falcons were one of the teams that were more overtly willing to offload assets. They were true sellers for the first time ever, as they sent Jessie Bates III to Jacksonville for a major return and Ryan Neuzil to Baltimore--and that's two key starters on the move.
The Falcons wanted to deal away players on expiring contracts and were more than likely not going to retain since they won't be getting any comp picks due to their cap number. However, it wasn't a complete sale, as they never considered trading cornerstones like Bijan Robinson or Drake London.
And speaking of Bijan, that wasn't for a lack of effort. Apparently the New York Giants made a run at him on Tuesday, as during a post-deadline episode of Breaking Big Blue, ESPN's Jordan Raanan revealed the Giants came calling about Bijan, and evidently, their pursuit of him never went anywhere.
"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."
Ian Cunningham must have hung up that phone in record time. The Falcons might be 3-6, but as Kevin Stefanski said, they aren't actively punting on the season. And trading not just your best offensive player, but the most important player on your roster is a good way to lose the trust of the fanbase.
Would it have been worth it for the Atlanta Falcons to consider trading Bijan Robinson to the Giants?
I respect the effort. But shooting your shot on Bijan Robinson is the NFL equivalent of me trying to slide into Sabrina Carpenter's DMs: it's just a waste of time. This is the best RB in football, and given he's 24 years old and is one of the highest-paid backs in NFL history, he surely isn't going anywhere.
It's not uncommon to see teams call others about players who are believed to be unavailable, especially as they're scrambling on deadline day. But this is just funny. The Falcons never would've dealt him, regardless of any chaos that could have transpired on the running back market.
The weird part about this is the Giants were unwilling to give up more than a second and a fifth (the same package the Dirty Birds got for Jessie Bates) for Jonathan Taylor, yet Bijan is younger and is under contract through 2030, so he would've got at least two first-rounders in return--possibly more.
What would it take for the Atlanta Falcons to consider dealing Bijan Robinson?
This does pose an interesting question though: would it have been worth it for Atlanta to consider dealing their face of the franchise? You could make the argument that the All-Pro back would net the Falcons multiple first-round picks in a trade, which would be awesome for a rebuilding team.
However, Bijan is the engine that makes this offense run and arguably the most dangerous weapon in football, who is a lot more than just a running back. His departure would've had a major ripple effect, including making, Michael Penix Jr.'s life much harder in a crucial evaluation year and negating the offensive identity this team wants to build.
Here's the thing: even if there was a Godfather-like offer, the Atlanta Falcons never would've done done it. Bijan Robinson is one of the best players and people in the NFL, and it's fairly evident they want him to be a core piece of the rebuild. They wouldn't have paid him if not. So RB-needy teams like the Giants can call all they want, but ultimately, he is too valuable for this team to trade.
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