FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga – The Atlanta Falcons currently sit at 3-3 and third in the NFC South, but could they still be a potential buyer at the trade deadline? Teams will have until November 4th to make any moves, and the Falcons have a few different things they could do.
First and foremost, the future of Kirk Cousins’ 2025 season will be decided over the next two weeks. The veteran backup has appeared in just one game this season, completing five of seven pass attempts for 29 yards. That could change with Michael Penix Jr. dealing with a bone bruise in his foot/ankle.
According to NFL insider Jonathan Jones, and concurrent with what the team has stated since last spring, he will remain in Atlanta barring any significant injuries around the NFL.
As far as what the Falcons could do at the deadline if they were to be buyers, the wide receiver immediately comes to mind. Drake London has been tremendous as the top option on this team, but behind him, there have been several inconsistencies.
Darnell Mooney, who returned on Sunday and caught three passes for 68 yards, has struggled with injuries through the 2025 season. He missed all of training camp with a shoulder injury, an ailment that cost him Week 1 of the regular season. Then, in the Falcons’ Week 4 win over the Commanders, Mooney injured his hamstring and missed the subsequent game against the Bills.
For the season, Mooney has just 10 catches (21 targets) for 147 yards – a far cry from his dominant 2024 season in which he finished with 992 yards and five touchdowns on 64 receptions.
Ray-Ray McCloud has been dealing with off-field issues between himself and head coach Raheem Morris. He has been a healthy scratch in each of the Falcons’ last two games.
With the void in the receiver room, Casey Washington was expected to step into a larger role. To this point, he has not been able to consistently do that. He was targeted just twice on Sunday, catching one for 17 yards, and was only on the field for 11 snaps (or 17% of their plays). In fact, despite not registering a stat in the box score, David Sills V out-snapped Washington 29 to 11 on Sunday.
Morris was asked about what sort of direction this team could take when they get to the deadline.
“First and foremost, I love our team. I love who we are. I love who we can be,” the Falcons’ head coach said when asked about what the team could do at the deadline. “Obviously, last night didn’t go the way we wanted it to go. But the thing I did love is we almost found a way to pull out an ugly win. And the really good teams, they find ways to pull out ugly wins. And when that score was 13-10 and we had an opportunity to do it, particularly in that fourth and one, or getting the ball back in that critical situation and being able to go down, I thought we had a chance. And that was where you want your team to be.
“But obviously, in this league, Terry [Fontenot] and all those guys in our pro department and all those type of things, they’re always looking to upgrade. So there’s nothing dire or nothing that we’re going to actively search out. But there’s always a possibility of anything that can happen.”
As of this writing, two weeks remain between now and the trade deadline. The Falcons have a clear need at wide receiver, but without a lot of capital to spare in the 2026 draft, their options may be limited.
