For the last week or so, the conversations surrounding Flowery Branch haven’t been revolving around the Falcons’ Week 7 contest against the Seahawks. It’s all about the NFL trade deadline, which is a few weeks away.
It’s not about the Falcon’s trade deadline as a whole. No, it’s about one particular facet of the club, one position, one goal — find someone to improve the pass rush. It’s really sparked by everyone just using their eyes and looking at the Falcons’ inability to pressure opposing quarterbacks.
There have been no substantiated reports… until now. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reports that the Falcons are indeed in the trade market for a pass rusher.
“Yes,” Breer responded to a question about the Falcons being in the trade market for a pass rusher. “They like what they’ve gotten in Matthew Judon. They’re very open to adding to what he’s brought to the table.”
The Falcons have played more games than they have sacks. They own a league-low five sacks but also rank 29th in pressures, so it’s not like the defense is just unable to convert pressures to sacks. They’re not impacting opposing quarterbacks at all.
Now, the club has around $9 million in cap space to potentially acquire a pass rusher in a trade, but that doesn’t mean they can’t afford more. Restructuring deals should be on the table for the Falcons if the right deal comes along.
Maxx Crosby has obviously dominated headlines, but that’s incredibly unlikely, even if he left the door open recently about a life beyond the Raiders. What’s much more plausible are players like Za’Darius Smith, Jadeveon Clowney, Chase Young, etc.
Now, the latter two aren’t exactly probable because intra-division trades are incredibly unlikely, but that’s the kind of players the Falcons will be able to lure in a trade.
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Photographer: Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire
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