To say it's been a busy week for the Atlanta Falcons would be a major understatement, because you could argue this was one of the most chaotic weeks in franchise history. It started with a 17-point loss to the Bengals in Madrid on Sunday morning, and things got progressively crazier from there.
The next morning, the Falcons took advantage of the trade deadline chaos. They traded Jessie Bates III to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for a 2027 second-rounder and a 2028 fifth-round pick before sending Ryan Neuzil to Baltimore for Andrew Vorhees and a 2028 sixth-rounder the next day.
The trade deadline mini-sale defined the week in Atlanta, but that's not all. After the deadline, they led the NFL with $149.3 million in 2027 cap space, and put it to good use on Friday morning. Cameron Thomas signed to a three-year extension worth up to $33 million while C.J. Henderson signed a deal worth $20 million over two years--which is solid value for two quality depth pieces.
As a crucial Week 10 matchup with Patrick Mahomes II and the Kansas City Chiefs looms, the Dirty Birds are looking to pull off another statement win in front of the home crowd, and before this matchup, let's go over some of the news this week we may have missed on account of all the chaos.
- What does the Falcons' Week 10 injury report look like?
- Tommy Rees is blaming himself for the offensive struggles
- More on the Nick Folk release and Jake Moody signing
- Quick Slants
What does the Falcons' Week 10 injury report look like?
The Falcons enter Week 10 relatively healthy, all things considered. Samson Ebukam and Brian Robinson Jr. are on IR with hamstring injuries, but this week's injury report wasn't that bad.
Rookie wideout Zachariah Branch is set to miss his second consecutive game with a hamstring, while Divine Deablo is doubtful with the forearm injury he has been dealing with all season. That means Chris Blair is in for an expanded role at receiver, and Kendal Daniels will again wear the green dot will draw the start alongside fellow rookie Harold Perkins Jr. on Sunday.
Additionally, Gervon Dexter Sr. (illness), James Pearce Jr. (back), and Josh Woods (ankle) are questionable despite practicing in a limited capacity all week. Meanwhile, OT Cameron Williams is set to make his season debut after being moved to the active roster.
Tommy Rees is blaming himself for the offensive struggles
If we are talking about Falcons headlines this week, near the top of the list has been the sloppiness and sheer lack of consistency from this team--especially on offense. After averaging 31 points per game across Michael Penix Jr.'s first five starts, they're averaging 8.5 PPG across the last two games.
In Week 9, Atlanta was called for a season-high 12 penalties that sunk their chances of winning. They beat themselves before the Bengals ever could, and the offense stalled out in meaningful moments. And while Penix has received most of the blame from the fanbase, the play-calling has as well.
First-year offensive coordinator Tommy Rees has been a subject of a lot of that scrutiny due to his lack of experience as an NFL play-caller, but he's been taking all of that to heart and holding himself accountable--and in doing so, provided a powerful quote that hit on exactly what needs to change.
"II think we all just got to do a better job," Rees said. "'ll put a lot of the onus on myself. We are close, but close in this league doesn't quite get it where you want to be. We've shown flashes of being a very top-level offense in the NFL...We've just got to find the consistency."
Tommy Rees was dead-on. There have been a lot of flashes, just not very consistently. The offense has too much talent for this to become a trend--and he's a creative play-caller. He just needs more situational awareness, and hopefully that should come as he gets more comfortable in his role.
More on the Nick Folk release and Jake Moody signing
It got lost in the shuffle this week. but the Falcons finally made a change at kicker, releasing Nick Folk and replacing him with Jake Moody. It's a pretty cut-and-dry change given the 42-year-old missed more field goals this season than the last three combined, but it goes a lot deeper than that.
On Thursday, special teams coordinator, Craig Aukerman told reporters Folk was the "ultimate professional". He revaled he expressed confidence in him because of the stuff he was doing in practice and in pregame, but acknowledged it didn't work out with Folk in game, whom he coached in Tennessee and handpicked as the new kicker in hopes of solving Atlanta's kicking issues.
"It’s rough," Aukerman said .. "When we had that discussion with him ... you know him as an unbelievable person who does everything right ... tough decision but I am excited for Jake Moody to come in here and see what he can do."
As for Moody, it was a journey for him to end up in red and black. He was previously on the Baltimore Ravens' practice squad, where he was being groomed to take over for Tyler Loop. But when Loop got hurt, he started in Week 9 against the Jaguars--yet was never signed to the active roster full-time.
However, now we know why. It later came out that the Ravens were willing to sign him to the 53, but when the Falcons were interested, they gave him a choice of remaining in Baltimore or joining the Dirty Birds, but because of the chance to play in a dome in Atlanta, he chose the latter situation.
Quick Slants
Michael Penix Jr. breaks his silence on the Kirk Cousins trade
Kirk Cousins was one of the worst signings in Falcons history, as just six weeks after Terry Fontenot signed him to a four-year, $180 million contract, he drafted Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth pick in the 2024 NFL Draft--and it got even worse when he wouldn't trade him once Penix took over as QB1.
Since being released this offseason, Cousins signed with the Las Vegas Raiders, where he turned back the clock and proved he still has quality football left in the tank. At the trade deadline, he was traded to the Minnesota Vikings, so he's back in Kevin O'Connell's offense playing for a contender.
Even though it came off like Cousins never embraced Penix in the way he did Fernando Mendoza, he was asked about his trade and had nothing but good things to say about him--and even mentioned his revenge game we'll see between the Falcons and Vikings in Week 12.
"I'm happy for him," Penix said. "Great person, great player. Just wish him nothing but success. Looking forward to seeing him in a couple weeks."
That says a lot about the former top-10 pick, because he was all class when he frankly didn't have to be.
Jeff Ulbrich speaks on the Jessie Bates trade
The big news of the week was about Jessie Bates getting traded to Jacksonville. Replacing him won't come easy, as he's been the most productive player on the defense and has generated some key takeaways. Anyone who said he's lost a step is wrong, because he's been playing out of his mind.
However, the Falcons were thinking long-term when they chose to move him, but that doesn't mean the defense won't feel the weight of his absence. We already learned that DeMarcco Hellams is set to be the new starting strong safety, but defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich spoke on such a major loss.
“Jessie is a special player, and as special of a player he is, the human being is even better, which is saying a lot because he's an amazing player," Ulbrich said. "Everybody's going to have to do a little bit more.”
Ulbrich is well aware it takes a village to replace a player as impactful as Bates, so while Hellams will start, Sydney Brown, Billy Bowman Jr. and several others will need to step up as well.
Add us as a preferred source on Google