The Atlanta Falcons made a splash less than 12 hours before the NFL's 53-man roster deadline, trading cornerback Clark Phillips III and a fifth-round pick to the Chicago Bears in exchange for defensive tackle Gervon Dexter. It was known that the Bears had been shopping Dexter, who recorded six sacks in 17 starts for Chicago last season.
The Falcons needed defensive tackle depth after losing David Onyemata and Grady Jarrett in back-to-back offseasons. Dexter is set to make $2.1 million in 2026, which is the final year of his rookie contract.
According to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, the Falcons beat out both the New Orleans Saints and the New York Giants to acquire Dexter on Sunday morning. Atlanta will likely need to work out a long-term extension
with the 24-year-old, but that hasn't been an issue for new GM Ian Cunningham thus far.
Fans seemed to feel Atlanta won the trade by a decent margin. Here's how those around the NFL reacted to the Falcons-Bears trade on social media.
Gervon Dexter is entering the final year of his rookie contract.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 30, 2026
Falcons GM Ian Cunningham was Chicago’s Assistant GM when the Bears used a second-round pick on Dexter in 2023. https://t.co/NG23VcLOjg
The trade market for Gervon Dexter was heavy, including interest from the #Giants and #Saints, per sources.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) August 30, 2026
The #Falcons showed the strongest interest and were able to hammer out the details over the weekend. https://t.co/9e0nFSeqEu
Insane fleece
— Carlton (@CrispyCarlton) August 30, 2026
Common Ian W https://t.co/77dGXkuwee
Maybe this ages poorly, but I think this is a really bad return for Chicago https://t.co/NSp8iea949
— Football Analysis (@FBallAnalysisYT) August 30, 2026
Gervon Dexter seems to be a great fit on paper for defensive line coach Nate Ollie's attack front. #Falcons
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) August 30, 2026
A possible trade candidate for practically all offseason, Dexter is finally headed elsewhere. https://t.co/DjaejaxUf2
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) August 30, 2026
Ryan Poles getting fleeced from Ian Cunningham 😭
— THE ICEMAN & BEN JOHNSON SHOW (@Yaboi07035155) August 30, 2026
The Falcons are sending defensive back Clark Phillips and a fifth-round pick to the Bears in exchange for DT Gervon Dexter, per source.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) August 30, 2026
The #Falcons have traded for massive (6-6, 326) DT Gervon Dexter Sr., agent Drew Rosenhaus has confirmed to https://t.co/1q4Kql1Iwx. He was a second round pick (53rd overall) in the 2023 draft. Has 115 tackles and 13.5 sacks. Gave up CB Clark Phillips III and a fifth round pick. pic.twitter.com/BZpfZEVt71
— D. Orlando Ledbetter (@BowTieSportsGuy) August 30, 2026
Clark Phillips III was in line for a backup role at outside corner for the #Falcons behind AJ Terrell and Mike Hughes. He had a solid training camp. Now, he's off to Chicago. It'll be interesting to see how many CBs Atlanta will keep on the 53-man roster.
— Marc Raimondi (@marcraimondi) August 30, 2026
The #Falcons get added talent up front with Gervon Dexter, a player their new GM Ian Cunningham is more than familiar with. Meanwhile, Chicago gets some talent at cornerback with Clark Phillips III. https://t.co/EAAVp7bUf8
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 30, 2026
Dexter lands in Atlanta with GM Ian Cunningham, who was hired away from the Bears this offseason.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) August 30, 2026
The 25-year old brings interior pass rush production. He’s extension eligible going into the final year of his rookie deal. https://t.co/L6SwlOXP35
Falcons fleeced the Bears. https://t.co/i9B8c6VYkm
— The Big Blue Center (@BigBlueCenter18) August 30, 2026
This is a very confusing decision by Poles to trade our best DT when our D-Line already sucks
— Mike (@ChiNation18) August 30, 2026
Gotta be trying for Sweat or someone else right? https://t.co/14c5HPRJRW
That’s it wow https://t.co/SHBRwdzvwQ
— K.C.W. (@1K_TheWrightWay) August 30, 2026
All these Bears fans coping in the comments makes this trade even more of a fleece. 24 year old second round pick with 6 sacks last year and 5 the year before for a measly 5th round pick and a midget at CB. What a W for Ian. Ryan Poles couldn’t even hold Cunninghams jock
— Jay (@dbirds_) August 30, 2026
Dexter has some real pass rush juice from the interior of the defensive line and Clark Phillips wasn’t guaranteed to make the roster. Nice trade by Cunningham utilizing that surplus of picks the Falcons will have. https://t.co/Csbt33HgGk
— Adnan Ikic (@SayWhichWay) August 30, 2026
https://t.co/hgdXz2AVmq pic.twitter.com/9Xoip8EXj1
— Lord Zito (@VivalaZito) August 30, 2026
Falcons land new starting defensive tackle in trade with Bears https://t.co/5cuxWnriHS
— The Falcons Wire (@TheFalconsWire) August 30, 2026
The Falcons must trim their roster down to 53 players by Sunday's 6 p.m. ET deadline. Follow along with each move using our Falcons roster cuts tracker!
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: NFL world reacts to Falcons' trade for Bears DT Gervon Dexter
