In Week 9, it was another ugly week to be the Atlanta Falcons, as they traveled over 4,300 miles to Madrid to get diced up by the Cincinnati Bengals. The 34-17 loss saw Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase light this defense up through the air, while penalties and unforced errors sank them all morning long.
Between bad special teams play, turnovers, and penalties, the Falcons beat themselves before the Bengals even could--which negated some major gains. Now Atlanta is sitting at 3-6, and while they're a half-game back of the NFC South lead, they made some major subtractions at the trade deadline.
All year long, we have been taking a look at former Falcons, and now the list of players we're going to have to look into just got longer after Jessie Bates and Ryan Neuzil were both traded. And at the midway point of the season, this second half is about to be brutal with a tough schedule coming up.
The wild part is that Bates and Neuzil weren't the only people with Atlanta ties to be moved, so let's see how some old friends are doing, which includes Kirk Cousins, who was just traded, Arnold Ebiketie, who wasn't, and Kaden Elliss.
Checking in our favorite former Atlanta Falcons players after Week 9
Minnesota Vikings QB Kirk Cousins
Kirk Cousins' time as the Las Vegas Raiders' starting quarterback was always going to be on a ticking clock, as the Raiders had No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza sitting behind him. It was the exact same scenario the Dirty Birds were in with Michael Penix Jr., just without the $180 million contract.
In Week 9, Cousins completed 22 of 32 passes for 216 yards, a touchdown, and three interceptions in the 38-17 loss to the San Francisco 49ers--and was picked off on the final two drives of the game. And after that, the Raiders saw an opportunity and took it, capitalizing the Vikings' QB desperation.
At the deadline, Las Vegas sent Cousins to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for a 2027 third-round pick to hand Mendoza the reins. And given the Vikings called on Geno Smith, Daniel Jones, and Justin Herbert, they knew they wanted a quarterback--and they settled on a familiar face.
The 28-year-old knows Kevin O'Connell's offense, has proven this season he still has quality football left in the tank, and is familiar with these receivers. Now they won't waste a historically elite defense on awful QB play, so everyone wins here--except the Falcons, who would never have traded him and will now face his old team (and his old OC in Kevin Stefanski) in Week 12.
New Orleans Saints LB Kaden Elliss
Kaden Elliss was the most important Falcon Ian Cunningham let leave this past offseason, and so far, his reunion with the New Orleans Saints had not gone according to plan. He missed three games due to injury, including his first Falcons revenge game, yet since returning, he has been great as always.
In a 23-22 overtime victory over the Cleveland Browns Elliss delivered his best game of the season, recording 11 tackles (eight solo), two TFLs, a sack, and four QB hits--as well as a season-high seven pressures. The guy was everywhere
He also came through in deciding the outcome of the game. In the second quarter, the Saints turned away the Browns on fourth-and-goal, which was because of Kaden Elliss. The 31-year-old was the one who made the stop of Quinshon Judkins, which was the stop that ultimately swung the outcome.
New York Giants WR Darnell Mooney
While Jahan Dotson has been lighting it up as Atlanta's new deep threat, the man he replaced, Darnell Mooney, has not had as good of a season. Entering Week 9. Mooney had caught just nine passes for 113 yards, as even a reunion with his old Bears coach Matt Nagy in New York couldn't help him.
However, he turned in his best game of the season in the Giants' 19-11 win over the Philadelphia. He caught three passes for a season-high 54 yards, including a 27-yard dime from J.J. McCarthy. The bar is low given he's the WR3 behind Malik Nabers and Malachi Fields and the fourth option in their passing attack behind Nabers, Fields, and Isaiah Likely but he still has some juice downfield.
Arizona Cardinals RB Tyler Allgeier
Last week, we were talking about Tyler Allgeier's breakout game, as he went for nearly 190 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns as a feature back against the Dallas Cowboys, but unfortunately, Week 9 was a step in the wrong direction for a guy who is incredibly talented.
With Love now on IR, he's Arizona's starting running back for the foreseeable future, and a date with the stout Seattle Seahawks' defense didn't help. He carried the ball 17 times for 46 yards (2.7 YPC) in a 17-3 Cardinals loss, but with Brian Robinson Jr. on IR, the Falcons could really use him right now.
Philadelphia Eagles OLB Arnold Ebiketie
Arnold Ebiketie is not on this list because of what he did in the Eagles' loss to the Giants, but because of his whirlwind of an afternoon on deadline day. He was traded from Philadelphia to Cincinnati, but he later wasn't because of something the Bengals' front office missed yet a guy on Twitter found.
It was found that if the trade went through, Cincinnati would forefit a third-round comp pick they got for Trey Hendrickson's departure despite only giving up a 2027 sixth-round pick to get him because he was signed as a free agent by the Eagles this offseason and also counts against the comp pick formula.
I would venture to say that it it wasn't before, Ebiketie's NFL career is certainly on the rocks now.
Tennessee Titans WR Calvin Ridley
I haven't listed Calvin Ridley in any of these check-ins, and that's because there really hasn't been a lot to say. But he was floated in trade rumors before the deadline, but the Titans opted to keep him because he found himself embroiled in a pretty weird situation that deterred any possible movement.
Ridley was involved in an alleged incident at the Nashville airport where he lost his valet card to get his truck back, and refused to give him his car until it was resolved. However, he grabbed the keys out of the valet's hands and the key allegedly left a scratch on the valet's hand and they pressed charges.
Falcons fans are well aware of the former All-Pro's baggage from his time here, but this is a situation that's as unusual as it gets.
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