Falcons know perception is they’re ‘plumbing the season.’ They still believe.
FLOWERY BRANCH — Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski meets with his leadership council every week. This week’s gathering didn’t last any longer than others, but it certainly carried more weight.
How does a team lose its best defensive player, its starting center and stay together? Better yet, how does it navigate the mixed messaging between a front office trading two of its longest-tenured players and a coaching staff expressing its desire to win?
Stefanski and the Falcons’ leadership committee — which includes running back Bijan Robinson, receiver Drake London, offensive linemen Jake Matthews and Chris Lindstrom, outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith, linebacker Divine Deablo and cornerback A.J. Terrell — worked through it.
By the meeting’s end, Stefanski issued a clear directive he wanted his leaders to push. It started with being ready for this week’s endeavors — practice, meetings, walk-throughs — but progressed into a bigger, more meaningful ideal.
“Make sure everybody’s on board,” Robinson said of Stefanski’s message. “Make sure nobody comes in the building, moping around. Nothing like that. So, we took that message to heart, and everybody in the locker room is positive right now.”
The Falcons traded star safety Jessie Bates III to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round selection on Monday, then dealt center Ryan Neuzil to the Baltimore Ravens for backup guard Andrew Vorhees and a 2028 conditional sixth-round pick on Tuesday.
Stefanski addressed the moves in a team meeting Wednesday morning. “It was the elephant in the room,” cornerback Mike Hughes told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Stefanski gave his flowers to those who left, then encouraged a next-man-up mentality across the board.
Robinson initially learned of the Falcons’ decisions through social media. He texted Bates and Neuzil, then tried to come to terms with moving on from two of the nine remaining players who inhabited the roster before Atlanta drafted him in 2023.
“I mean, it sucks,” Robinson said. “Like, those are two guys that I respect a lot, that I’ve been playing with my whole time being here. So, it definitely does suck, but I understand, too, that’s what happens sometimes. I just had to move on from it.”
But a natural sense of grief accompanies such departures — especially Bates, a four-time captain and three-time All-Pro who was among the most respected players in the locker room.
Safety Xavier Watts, who started alongside Bates and viewed the 29-year-old as a mentor, said he was “in shock” when he learned the news. Quarterback Michael Penix Jr., who has the locker next to Bates, said the nine–year veteran went about life doing everything the right way, “and that’s something you don’t forget.”
Hughes signed his contract in Atlanta four days after Bates did the same in 2023. They were in the same draft class, same free agent class and, of course, same secondary. To Hughes, not seeing Bates in the building Wednesday was a bizarre change.
“It’s definitely weird, bro,” Hughes said. “We’re going to miss No. 3 for sure. That’s my boy. I’ve been knowing him for nine years now. So, it’s definitely going to be different. Miss him and just wishing him all the best.”
The Falcons’ locker room is now in a clash of two forces.
Matthews referred to football as an odd profession. “It doesn’t matter what happens, you’ve got to have the same straight-arrow approach to the task at hand,” Matthews said. “It’s got to be almost robotic.” Emphasis on almost.
Matthews acknowledged the Falcons are humans, too. So did Penix. So did Stefanski. And if the Falcons are robots, this week’s moves would’ve short-circuited the system.
“It’s emotional when you lose a player for any reason,” Stefanski said. “You don’t like to lose any of your teammates because we develop relationships with each other. That’s the truth. And it’s OK to be missing someone because they’re not able to play anymore, for whatever the reason.
“It’s also, we have a job to do. And when you lose a player because of injury, what do we all say? Next guy, step up, here we go. Next man up. And that’s just how football teams are wired.”
Outside the Falcons’ building and into the sphere of public opinion, there’s another consistent wiring: When teams ship away starters at the trade deadline, it’s perceived they’re waiving the white flag.
Stefanski said the Falcons, who are 3-6 and only a half-game out of first place in the NFC South, are “in no way, shape or form” punting on the 2026 season. But the players hear it. Don’t think they’re immune to that noise.
“I know the external people outside of here think we’re just plumbing the season,” Robinson said. “Like, no, man. We’re focused on this week and we’re going to take it one game at a time and go from there. We’re all confident in ourselves and we got to do for the rest for the season and try to make a push, man.”
Robinson, the NFL’s leading rusher, leans on his faith to navigate the difficult times.
“You play, you work so hard to get the result of trying to win the game,” Robinson said, “and when it just doesn’t happen, it does get hard.”
The Falcons, who have lost four of their last five games, feel they have the pieces to turn their season around despite dealing Bates and Neuzil.
Hughes acknowledged there’s “not a lot you can do to replace a guy like (Bates),” but fourth-year pro DeMarcco Hellams is in line to try. Corey Levin, a 10-year veteran, will take over for Neuzil at center.
As for the leadership void — in addition to Bates, the Falcons released kicker Nick Folk on Tuesday, meaning they lost two captains in as many days — Stefanski trusts the voices in his locker room. So does Robinson. Leadership, they say, is next-man-up, too.
Matthews said there’s often a paranoia level of attention-to-habits each week in the NFL. Given recent events, he conceded, there’s plenty of reason for the Falcons’ leaders to have their antennas up this week. But he trusts the formula rooted in the team’s culture.
The early returns from Wednesday’s practice are encouraging.
“I feel like we went out and had a really good practice,” Matthews said, “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.’”
Stefanski conceded there can be short- and long-term tension around trades like these. Losing a player of Bates’ caliber weakens the Falcons’ defense, and there’s little way around it. Replacing a center who’s started 26 consecutive games mid-season isn’t a walk in the park, either.
Wednesday didn’t feel somber in Flowery Branch. The lockers previously occupied by Bates and Neuzil are empty, still yet to be taken. It’s a noticeable void. But eight games still remain, and the Falcons’ decision-makers take solace in believing they’ve set up the team for brighter days ahead.
As for the present? The objective remains the same — even if the challenge became tougher.
“We’re trying to win regardless, man,” Robinson said. “Like, we understand that we got to make some moves, but it doesn’t change the fact that we’re still trying to get to where we want to get to in the season.”