While the Atlanta Falcons have cooled off in recent weeks— especially after rookies Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. are starting to hit the rookie wall— both of them have played well enough to push Arnold Ebiketie out of the lineup altogether.
Ebiketie, who was once picked 38th overall in the 2022 NFL Draft, has spent the majority of the 2025 season watching his playing time gradually ebb away as the highly-touted young guns start to make their mark. The pass-rushing dynamo Falcons fans thought they were getting doesn't seem to have made the transition to Raheem Morris' defense.
With Ebiketie's departure from Atlanta seeming more locked in with each passing week, some insiders are wondering if the best course of action might just be letting Ebiketie seek a trade in the name of at least getting a pick back.
ESPN's Jeremy Fowler listed Ebiketie as an "under the radar" player who could get traded before the deadline. While he did mention that the Falcons aren't actively looking to trade Ebiketie away, Atlanta is going to listen to an offer that comes their way.
ESPN Insider suggests Falcons could consider trading Arnold Ebiketie
Ebiketie was a Top 50 edge rusher in the eyes of Pro Football Focus last year, and has looked respectable in a limited role with Atlanta this season. However, the Falcons drafted him with the expectation that he could be a prized, stabilizing member of this pass rush, and he hasn't done that.
With just 14.5 sacks in four seasons (none of which came this year) and not enough run defense dominance to make up for that relative lack of production, Ebiketie may need to look elsewhere for a team that could possibly get the most out of his services in a new scheme.
The Falcons may not get a ton in a trade for him due to his status as an impending free agent, but a team that doesn't have a first-round pick this year thanks to the Pearce trade might be willing to just pawn him off on the highest bidder and reevaluate their defensive line in the offseason.
Ebiketie is a man without a role in this defense right now, and the best thing Terry Fontenot could do for this team right now is to send the former Penn State star somewhere else in the name of getting some draft capital back for a needy Falcons team.