The Atlanta Falcons Spanish expedition was fruitless, and the team returned to the States with another L to their name. The front office responded by doing something we haven’t seen in years: sell off assets. There were role players with good contributions to highlight, but a handful of starters let the team down.
Here’s the Week 9, 3 down and 3 down.
3 up
Ian Cunningham
The Falcons are 3-6, and while they are technically in play for the NFC South title, that’s not good enough for Cunningham, and that’s a refreshing mentality.
It’s never easy losing a player like Jessie Bates, but with free agency looming and the team being far from a Super Bowl-caliber roster, Cunningham made the trade with an eye toward the future, collecting a 2nd and 5th-round pick.
He also made a buzzer-beater trade that shipped Ryan Neuzil to the Ravens and netted the team a 2028 6th-round pick and Andrew Vorhees. Neuzil doesn’t fit this new scheme, and instead of getting nothing for him and knowing the comp formula wouldn’t go their way with future spending, the GM took a proactive approach.
Charlie Woerner
Woerner has been pretty steady after a slow start and had himself a respectable game. While the Falcons run game has been in a slump, it’s not due to him. On the Falcons best runs you’ll almost always find Woerner in the mix. He wins most of his battles against opposing linebackers and can be quite stout on the edge. It was nice to see the team reward him early with a touchdown.
He still needs to work on that Tush Push, but that’s gonna be hard to do behind the centers on the roster, especially when Dexter Lawrence is across from you.
LaCale London
London is a bargain for what he provides. His presence was felt against the Bengals; he had two pressures, a sack, and a tough run stop on the goal line. Year after year, he’s proven he can handle double teams and make plays off pure effort.
He’s a glue guy that plays with an edge, and every roster needs guys like these. London is playing on a one-year deal and looks like a no-brainer for a new contract in 2027.
3 down
A.J. Terrell
Terrell got worked early and often in this matchup. Ja’Marr Chase picked up where he left off in the 2019 National Championship, and had his way with Terrell. Tee Higgins was also able to haul in a touchdown on the corner. Man, press, zone—it didn’t matter what the coverage was; Terrell got scorched. It has been somewhat of a down year for the corner, who spent time on IR, but this game has fans irate.
I understand where they’re coming from, but this did happen against the best QB-WR pair in the league, and it’s not like the Falcons are better off without Terrell, for now. Still, his days as a top-flight corner in this league are fading.
Divine Deablo
It was another rough performance for the linebacker, who has taken a massive step back during his second year in Atlanta. I respect his willingness to play through injury, but it’s hurting the team, and his odds of getting anything more than a cheap one-year deal somewhere in 2027. He can’t even perform a form tackle right now.
If it was just his body breaking down, that’d be one thing, but his coverage drops have been sloppy, and he isn’t diagnosing plays close to the speed he was last year. He may have been an X-factor in 2025, but he is one of the weak links in 2026.
Nick Folk
I begged for Folk to be cut and Cunningham delivered. It was one thing when the missed kicks happened from the 50s, but from 38?! Folk will still be remembered as one of the best to do it over the past decade, but unfortunately he ran out of gas when he got to Atlanta.
The Falcons are 3-6 and without some familiar names heading into Week 10. The team is in full evaluation mode, and while it’s hard to get excited about that in-season, it’s the right call.
