The 2022 NFL trade deadline was the busiest in league history and the Atlanta Falcons were a major reason why. Of the NFL-record 10 trades executed on Tuesday, three of them involved the Falcons.
The most notable of Atlanta’s three deadline deals was suspended wide receiver Calvin Ridley being moved to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a fifth-round pick and a conditional fourth-rounder.
The Falcons also sent safety Dean Marlowe to the Bills in exchange for a seventh-round pick, and acquired cornerback Rashad Fenton from the Chiefs for a conditional seventh-rounder.
The reactions around the league have been all over the place. Let’s check out what grades the Falcons received for each trade in NFL.com’s new feature.
“It’s a clever move by the Jaguars to land a player whose price tag might have gone up in the offseason, with more possible teams bidding and less time to wait for his contributions,” writes Eric Edholm of NFL.com. “But doing so now also means sending assets today for a player who won’t contribute at all in 2022, so that’s the drawback. And it could end up being a fairly robust return for the Falcons in return for a player who will have gone a year and a half between games at the very least.”
“The Falcons didn’t get back much for Marlowe, but we’re not sure there was another team willing to part with a draft pick for him, so that goes down as a small victory for Atlanta, too,” writes Edholm. “Not a big trade, but it’s one both teams could benefit slightly from.”
“Fenton opened eyes his first two seasons as a reserve but became less effective the more he saw the field, limited by his size and lack of playmaking chops,” explains Edholm. “He was flagged four times this season for penalties, including three (two of them were declined) against the Chargers in Week 2. The biggest thing this trade achieves for Kansas City is lopping off $1.4 million in salary-cap space. For the Falcons, it’s a low-risk dart throw at a position where you can never have enough darts.”
“Jones was going to count $20 million against Atlanta’s cap in 2023. He wasn’t in their plans at all,” writes Edholm. “They made it known in August he could be had for a song. So getting anything of value for him, even in a year where they’re inexplicably in contention, feels like a…
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