Falcons 'Feel Really Good' After Trade-Less Deadline

Despite making no moves, the Atlanta Falcons believe they're in a good place after the trade deadline.

Atlanta Falcons head coach Raheem Morris and general manager Terry Fontenot had "a couple discussions" at the trade deadline. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Atlanta Falcons were oft rumored as a team in aggressive pursuit of upgrades at the trade deadline. But as the clock moved past 4 p.m. Tuesday, Atlanta sat silently.

At 6-3 and with five wins in their past six games, the Falcons have plenty of wind at their backs. They lead the NFC South by two games -- but also have an NFL-low nine sacks through nine games.

As such, Atlanta was a sensical candidate to acquire a pass rusher. Instead, the Falcons, already with a less-than-full stock of draft picks, stood pat.

Yet while Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot had an active Tuesday, head coach Raheem Morris said Wednesday he never had any possible trades come across his desk.

"We just had a couple discussions about things," Morris said. "Obviously, Terry's always grinding and on the phone. I'm not definitely a part of all those conversations, especially preparing for the Saints -- those are the things you really want to be concerned with."

After contemplating his preparation for Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints, Morris paused, then continued.

"We feel really good about the guys we've got," Morris said. "So, feeling really good about where we're at."

Now, Atlanta ventures to New Orleans, which fired head coach Dennis Allen on Monday morning. The Saints hired special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi as their interim head coach, a position Morris knows innately well -- he was Atlanta's interim for the final 11 games of 2020.

Morris said the Saints will have a greater sense of urgency. He knows the Falcons need to match it.

"The increased urgency for us to go out there and win and the attention that we have to put to these guys because of the stuff you're talking about, being able to take over a new program or being able to start over and instill some different things," Morris said.

"But, when a coach gets fired, the urgency in the building is certainly increased from the ownership all the way down and throughout the organization."

And to handle the Saints' added urgency, Morris had his eyes firmly on game prep -- while the trade deadline came and went.