Atlanta Falcons shake up roster ahead of Chiefs matchup

And let's bring in Fox 5 Sports' Kelly Price now. She joins me here at the desk. Kelly, I mean, we found out on Monday that it was right before the trade deadline that there was a big trade. The Falcons got some, at least some good news for the next couple years for the draft. But, I mean, for a lot of people. He's a big name, Bates. Right, right, yeah. So the Falcons traded away Jesse Bates to the Jaguars. They netted a second-round pick, which is a pretty big deal. Some other moves they've made as well. They traded away their center, who's another starter. They cut their kicker, who was another captain, as well as Bates. So a number of guys have been shifted. And it's been an interesting week in Flowery Branch. I was there yesterday. I definitely sensed a little bit of a vibe shift. We talked to Bijan Robinson, who is one of the just brightest rays of sunshine that you will ever come across. And I just. I felt like his energy was really off. Personally, I felt like he, you know, I feel like this has been a really hard season. They've lost a lot of games. They're 3-6. They're still alive in the division because their division is all over the place. However, when you trade away a heart and soul guy of the team like Jesse Bates, that's just a really hard pill to swallow for fans and for the guys in the locker room. So it's an interesting time in Flowery Branch. They say that they're not, quote-unquote, punting on the season. They say they want to keep on winning. winning. Their goals are still in front of them to make the playoffs. But we'll see. I mean, but you can understand where fans are probably feeling like we are just giving up on the season three and six. But I mean. We're still technically in the hunt for the NFC South. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, because the division is NFC South thing, like the Falcons are very in the thick of it. There are division games all the way till the end of the season. I mean, anyone who watches the Falcons knows that this division kind of comes down to those final weeks of the season because they all play each other. They're all really close to each other in standings, and it will come down to those final weeks of the season, I believe. But, yeah, it's been a tough week in Flowery Branch. And on top of that, by the way, Madrid. They're dealing with jet lag. Obviously, they just lost a game as well. So it's been a tough week. But Bijan also said yesterday that the team leaders have been kind of told to spread the message of, hey, let's just keep coming to work. Let's keep practicing. You know, we're not going to sit here and cry for ourselves. This is just a business. This is how it goes. Here's some of what Bijan said yesterday. I mean, it sucks. But those are, those are... Two guys that I respect a lot, that I've been playing with my whole time being here. So, you know, it definitely does suck. But I understand, too, like, that's what this business sometimes, you know, that's what happens sometimes. So, you know, I text those guys. I just had to move on from it. I mean, obviously, Jesse meant a lot to the defense, to the organization, really to the city of Atlanta. So, I mean, we took it. It was definitely news for us. But we understand. So the last guy we just heard from DeMarco Helms, he's going to be replacing Jesse Bates, likely. Likely I mean. Is he feeling good about where we're going? Yeah, you heard him talk there about how you have to prepare each week. You're a snap away from being on that playing field. He has filled in for Bates, particularly in the preseason. He's had some opportunities when Bates hasn't played or has been injured. He's a really hard hitter. Anyone who's watched him play, even he went to Alabama, going back to his college days, his nickname is Bam Bam because he just is like... He hits people. He's a really hard hitter. Xavier Watts, one of the other safeties, even said people are going to be fearing him after they see him play. So we'll see what that looks like. He's obviously not Bates in a lot of ways. He was such a turnover machine. Bates was such a leader on this team. And Helms is a much younger guy, but that's the guy who's going to kind of step up and maybe they'll. Rotate some other guys. I mean, Billy Bowman, who we saw a little bit of footage of, he has a history of playing safety as well. And Sidney Brown. There's a couple guys on this team who have a history of playing safety who could kind of come in in different roles. And who knows? I mean, we could be surprised. You might be safety. Thank you Steve. Really good. Listen, I... Wouldn't know what I'm doing, but I'm sure, you know, we can just all try our hardest out there, which seems to be like the Falcons team this year. We're just trying our hardest out there and still getting a couple wins, getting many losses. So obviously Patrick Mahomes is coming to town Sunday. I mean. They're a good team. It's a tall task. And by the way, anyone who doesn't even know about football knows about Patrick Mahomes, right? But guess what? They added a run game this year that is really explosive. One of the best in the NFL. It's something that Mahomes hasn't really had, that kind of dual threat on offense. They've always had the passing game. We know what an explosive offense. Casey has always been, but now they've got Kenneth Walker, one of the best rushers in the National Football League. And by the way, the Falcons have not been trending in the right direction in their rush defense, so it'll be an interesting matchup. That's my number one matchup to watch. So, I mean, there's going to be a lot to watch for on Sunday, and you obviously cover the Falcons a lot, so that's going to be number one. Anything else that fans should be watching for come Sunday? Just kind of the rebound, right? Like, Falcons fans kind of know this is a game that the Falcons sometimes come out and win for. No reason, right? Like the 49ers game, when you look back, it's like, you know, what kind of happened there? And what happened with the other games? The inconsistency we've seen from this team. Does that continue this week in a way that might excite fans and get them pulled back in with the hope of what's to come the rest of the season? We'll see what that looks like on Sunday, but the Chiefs are really good. We'll have to wait and see. We could be talking about this all day. And we're going to, literally, we're just going to have to see what happens Sunday. One o'clock start, right? At the Benz? Yes. Back in town, back in the country, and hopefully back to winning. We'll see. We'll see. Kelly Price, thanks so much.