A phone call, not a deal
The trade deadline came and went on Tuesday without Bijan Robinson changing teams. It was not for a lack of interest from New York.
The Giants contacted the Atlanta Falcons about the star running back before the deadline passed, ESPN reported on Wednesday, with the news relayed by Field Level Media a few hours ago. What happened after that call is less clear. The report could not establish whether New York ever put a formal offer on the table, and several league sources described Robinson as untouchable for Atlanta, the face of a franchise even in a 3-6 season.
The numbers explain both the inquiry and the refusal. Robinson leads the league with 880 rushing yards through nine games. Since Atlanta took him eighth overall in 2023, he has piled up 6,778 yards and 40 touchdowns from scrimmage in 60 appearances, 59 of them starts, collecting two Pro Bowl nods and a 2025 All-Pro selection along the way. He is still only 24.
no renewal
Free for 2 weeks.
Harbaugh wanted a player he could love
John Harbaugh did not hide his intentions. About an hour before the deadline, the first-year Giants coach said he wanted to add a playmaker, then drew a sharp line between players a team likes and players it loves. He made it clear only the second group would get him excited. Robinson, it seems, belonged in that category.
New York’s backfield gives some context. Their leading rusher is Cam Skattebo, a 2025 fourth-round pick, with 418 yards and two touchdowns in seven games. Skattebo also sat out Sunday’s win in Philadelphia with a hamstring injury, which left the Giants thin at the position at the worst possible moment of the calendar.
What it says about both clubs
At 5-2-1, the Giants are in an unfamiliar spot under Harbaugh: buyers in November. Atlanta are the opposite, sitting three games under .500, yet they still treated their best offensive weapon as a long-term piece rather than a chip to cash in.
That stance looks consistent with the record contract Robinson signed earlier this year. Teams rarely pay a back at that level only to move him months later.
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