The Atlanta Falcons were one of the NFL's busier teams during the trade deadline, as they sent All-Pro safety Jessie Bates III to Jacksonville and starting center Ryan Neuzil to Baltimore before the 4:00 p.m. ET deadline on Tuesday, as they enjoyed a mini-sale for what feels like the first time ever.
Even during Ian Cunningham's first deadline as the Falcons' general manager, he didn't take any time trying to learn the ropes- instead of trying to take the easy road in the shallow end, he dove right into the deep end to add picks, which was a nice change from Terry Fontenot's conservative nature.
Now that the dust has settled on another chaotic deadline, it makes it easy to look back on what we saw. For starters, Atlanta has never had a general manager that understands value this well, as there were so many times where Fontenot or even Thomas Dimitroff should've blown it up and never did.
While most Falcons fans are thinking about Cunningham's decision-making, the choce to sell wasn't random. A pattern has emerged since they weren't offloading assets willy-nilly. The Bates and Neuzil trades were about trading players who are set to be free agents and wouldn't be back next year.
The Atlanta Falcons only traded players that are set to be free agents in 2027
Let's remember that the Falcons lead the NFL with roughly $149.3 million in 2027 cap space, so if you believe letting Jessie Bates and Ryan Neuzil walk would've netted them some compensatory picks, you're dead wrong. Their departures likely would've been negated by offseason pickups they'll make.
Besides, as I mentioned, they more than likely weren't going to be retained anyways. Bates wanted to play meaningful football again after three playoff-less seasons in Atlanta, and given he's turning 30 and plays a non-premium position, so trading him was the only way to get any value out of him.
The fact Cunningham got a second-rounder and a 2028 fifth for him just by taking on the rest of his expiring contract is masterful. Yes, the defense will obviously miss his impact (mainly as a playmaker), but this was an offer they couldn't refuse when it became clear he wasn't getting extended.
As for Neuzil, he has regressed from last year. It was fairly evident he was never going to be a long-term fix at the center spot. Across the last month, he's been terrible. Fumbled snaps, issues as a run blocker and the whole ordeal, and he can now reunite with Dwayne Ledford in Baltimore where his lack of size won't be an issue.
But the scheme fit argument goes both ways, as OL coach Bill Callahan wants bigger, more physical players at the line of scrimmage, and a 2028 sixth-round pick and 6-foot-6, 330-pound Andrew Vorhees are better for that, as is starting a "Callahan guy" in Corey Levin in Neuzil's place at center.
The Falcons had other guys on expiring deals they could've traded such as Tua Tagovailoa, C.J. Henderson, and Divine Deablo who I'm sure they also would've liked to trade but either the interest wasn't there or they feel they can bring most (or all) of these three back on team-friendly deals.
Ian Cunningham's first trade deadline as the GM of the Atlanta Falcons was such a rousing success because he had the foresight to recognize which players to trade based on their contract situations--so turning two future goners in Jessie Bates and Ryan Neuzil into extra draft capital is a job well done.
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