ESPN’s Bill Barnwell had an interesting take on Atlanta’s trade deadline options.

The 2025 NFL trade deadline is just two days away and the Atlanta Falcons are running out of time to make a deal. Will another team make a play for veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins, or are the Falcons doomed to pay every penny of the four-year, $180 million contract they handed him back in 2024?

At this point, it appears Cousins will likely remain in Atlanta, but that doesn’t mean the team won’t still make a move at the deadline. General manager Terry Fontenot is always open for business, and the team has injuries at multiple positions.

ESPN’s Bill Barnwell broke down some trade candidates from all 32 teams while giving advice to each on how to approach the deadline. While Cousins was included, Barnwell chose to focus more on Atlanta’s edge rusher group.

Arnold Ebiketie and Leonard Floyd were listed as trade candidates under the premise that it would open up more playing time for rookies James Pearce Jr. and Jalon Walker. In general, though, ESPN felt the Falcons should take a “neutral” approach to the trade deadline.

“After last week’s ugly loss to the Dolphins, the Falcons are down to a 12.4% chance of advancing to this year’s postseason, per ESPN’s Football Power Index,” wrote Barnwell. “They don’t have their own first-round pick in 2026 after shipping it to the Rams to get James Pearce Jr. in April, so you might argue that they’re less incentivized to tank (or at least lean into playing their younger guys) than teams that are hoping to land a top-10 pick in next year’s draft.”

While Walker has been out for the last few weeks due to a groin injury, the former Georgia star has shown a ton of potential when healthy. Pearce has been among the NFL’s top rookies at generating pressure this season.

In terms of moving Floyd or Ebiketie, ESPN felt it would be the best way for the Falcons to get value out of two players whose contracts expire after the season.

“Opening up more playing time for Pearce and Jalon Walker would make sense, though, and the Falcons could move one of their existing edge rushers to recoup some of that lost draft capital,” added Barnwell. “Ebiketie had six sacks in the 2023 and 2024 seasons, but his role has been reduced in 2025, and the Falcons are likely to let him hit free agency after the season.”

It’s certainly an interesting idea, but the team’s recent rash of injuries has changed the outlook on defense. Aside from the fact that Walker and Floyd are both listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Patriots, the recent injury to Divine Deablo could alter the Falcons’ linebacker rotation.

Deablo was having a dominant season before fracturing his forearm against the 49ers in Week 7. Since second-year linebacker JD Bertrand has struggled to fill the void, head coach Raheem Morris suggested that Walker could spend more time playing an off-ball linebacker role.

For now though, the team remains shorthanded entering Week 9. The Falcons will face the Patriots on the road this Sunday at Gillette Stadium. The game starts at 1 p.m. ET and will air on CBS (Week 9 TV map HERE). Check out the Falcons’ final injury report and starting lineups for Week 9.