FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Overcommunication. That has been the order of business over the past several days for Atlanta Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski.
That has included one-on-one meetings with players, small-group conversations with the team’s player leadership committee and full team meetings. Stefanski has wanted to make it absolutely certain that the Falcons, despite trading two starters before the NFL trade deadline earlier this week, are not in any way giving up on this season.
“I would tell you we’ve got a great group of leadership on this team,” Stefanski said. “I’ve talked to them a lot over the last few days -- like I do all the time, but in particular now. I’m very, very confident in their leadership.”
On Monday, the Falcons traded All-Pro safety Jessie Bates III to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a 2027 second-round draft pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick. Bates, aside from being arguably the best safety in the league, was also a team captain and one of the most respected veterans in the building.
A day later, Atlanta traded starting center Ryan Neuzil to the Baltimore Ravens for reserve guard Andrew Vorhees and a 2028 sixth-round pick. Neuzil was a Falcons success story, starting with the team as an undrafted free agent and working his way up to a starting role.
The Falcons are 3-6. So, in that respect, it made perfect sense to get value back for two players who were set to become free agents in the offseason. With regards to Bates, a safety had not been acquired for a second-round pick since 2018. Few could blame Atlanta for making the move.
“We believe the return gives us a meaningful opportunity to strengthen this roster over time,” a team source said. “That does not mean Jessie stopped being an outstanding player. We are giving up something valuable and we understand that.”
On the other hand, the Falcons are in one of the most unique positions in the NFL. Their record is ugly, but they are a half-game out of first place in a weak NFC South. All four teams in the division are sitting at three wins apiece. Atlanta finishes its season playing its NFC South rivals back-to-back-to-back.
So, there was also an argument for standing pat and making a good-faith run at the playoffs, where the Falcons have not been since 2017. Only the New York Jets have a longer drought.
“We’re still in it,” quarterback Michael Penix Jr. said. “... We’re so close in a lot of areas and I feel like in this organization we view that a lot. We use that a lot. We are so close.
“I truly believe we have the team and the guys that’s going to rally and flip the script because we got a lot of guys that care. Obviously, I feel like matchup wise, I feel like our team is one of the top teams in the league.”
The Falcons have shown glimpses of that, such as last month when they toppled the previously undefeated San Francisco 49ers in an impressive performance. But since then, they have fallen to the division rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a full-on downpour and lost to the Cincinnati Bengals in Madrid.
The schedule does not get any easier. The Kansas City Chiefs will come to town Sunday. After that, the Falcons have their bye week followed by a road game against the Minnesota Vikings, a home game against the Detroit Lions and then a trip to Cleveland. Those teams have a combined 23-10 record.
It will be up to the team’s leadership to keep the players focused on the task at hand. ESPN’s FPI is giving the Falcons only a 4.5% chance of making the playoffs, but the division remains wide open. The other three teams don’t have easy schedules, either.
Left tackle Jake Matthews, the longest-tenured Falcon and the only player left from the 2016 Super Bowl team, said Atlanta had a “really good practice” Wednesday “because everyone was kind of dialed in to ‘Hey, this is our objective still and we fully expect to go out and play every weekend to win.’”
“I think [Stefanski’s] message and the point was kind of driven home that there’s so much still ahead of us this season,” Matthews said. “We need to double down.”