Jaguars Trade for Falcons Safety Jessie Bates III

The Jacksonville Jaguars announced Monday that they are acquiring safety Jessie Bates III from the Atlanta Falcons for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick. The trade is pending a physical.

Bates, a former Pro Bowl selection, heads to Duval County with the cutoff set for Nov. 10. The Jaguars made the move to strengthen their secondary.

A Deal Few Expected, a Day Before the Cutoff

ESPN's Adam Schefter was first to report that the Jaguars had arranged a trade with the Falcons for the veteran safety. NFL insider Jordan Schultz was among those who confirmed the agreement. The deal landed with Week 9 nearly complete, and CBS Sports noted that trades were beginning to happen around the league.

Bates was not a name most people had on the market. Yahoo Sports wrote that he was not widely believed to be available before the deadline. He was known to draw interest, but a trade had not been anticipated without a substantial offer.

The Picks, the Salary and Bates' Expiring Deal

Atlanta receives a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick. The Falcons are also absorbing most of Bates' remaining contract to make the money work, with Jonathan Jones reporting that Atlanta will take on part of the salary to enable the trade.

That return beats what the market had been pricing. ESPN predicted over the weekend that a Bates trade would cost a third-round pick and a sixth-round pick, and Yahoo Sports said Atlanta appears to have done better than that projected return.

Bates signed a four-year, $64.02 million contract with the Falcons in the spring of 2023 and is in that deal's final year. He is a pending free agent, which is why CBS Sports views the move as a rental unless Jacksonville signs him to a new contract.

The Hole Bates Fills in Jacksonville

Bates takes the place vacated by Eric Murray, who sustained a season-ending elbow injury in Week 8 against the Indianapolis Colts. Antonio Johnson has also had injury issues in the same group.

The Jaguars allow 15.1 points per game, second in the NFL in scoring defense, but Next Gen Stats has the unit 27th in EPA per play allowed on passes thrown more than 20 yards downfield. Reports from Jacksonville in recent days said the team was looking for "defensive playmakers" before the deadline.

Anthony Campanile's defense is third in the league in takeaways with 15, and Yahoo Sports credits its ranking largely to takeaways and run defense. Yahoo also cautioned that Bates does not transform the secondary on his own, and that quarterbacks such as Josh Allen, Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes would exploit the downfield weakness in the playoffs.

Who Jacksonville Is Adding

Bates was a second-round pick by the Bengals in 2018 out of Wake Forest and spent his first five NFL seasons in Cincinnati. He has made one Pro Bowl and three All-Pro second teams, the most recent of those last season.

He ranks third among active players with 28 career interceptions. In Atlanta he recorded 14 interceptions, returned three of them for touchdowns and forced 11 fumbles. Through nine games this season he has 60 tackles, one interception and three forced fumbles.

TruMedia has Bates allowing a 78.3% completion percentage and a 115.2 passer rating in coverage. He will soon turn 30, part of the reason Yahoo Sports called the price paid for him excessive.

Why a 6-2 Team Pays This Much

Jacksonville is 6-2 entering Week 10, winner of five of its past six games and three games clear of the Houston Texans in the AFC South. The Jaguars lead the NFL in point differential at +108, and in "Team Tiers," which assesses offenses and defenses using Expected Points Added, they are level with the San Francisco 49ers at the top.

They moved to 6-2 by beating the Ravens on Thursday, a game our November 3 preview had Jacksonville favored by 8.5. Yahoo Sports wrote that the deal reflects the measured aggressiveness of general manager James Gladstone and the influence of his Los Angeles Rams background.

Yahoo graded the Jaguars a B, calling a move of this type sensible for a team in its contention window, and said the grade could rise if Bates is given an extension.

Atlanta Just Started Selling

The Falcons are 3-6 and last in their division after a 34-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in Madrid, their fourth defeat in five games. They traded Bates a day after that game, a move Yahoo Sports reads as a sign Atlanta will focus on 2027, a year in which Over The Cap projects the Falcons to hold an NFL-high $110 million in cap space.

The Carolina Panthers lead the NFC South at 3-5, and Atlanta has already beaten them this season, which is why Yahoo Sports noted there is an argument the Falcons should be buying instead of selling. Bates never got the extension Atlanta handed to Bijan Robinson and Drake London.

Yahoo Sports argued the team might not have received a compensatory pick for Bates at all, since heavy free agency activity would cancel out those selections. Against that sits a playoff drought that has run eight years, which Yahoo says owner Arthur Blank badly wants ended.

Bates is the first player Atlanta has traded as it turned to the future, and Yahoo Sports suggested he could be the biggest name the Falcons move.

Who Replaces Him in Atlanta

Yahoo Sports expects DeMarcco Hellams, Sydney Brown or both to absorb Bates' snaps, with Xavier Watts playing alongside the replacement. Shifting Brown to full-time safety would open nickel snaps for Mike Hughes and Avieon Terrell, who look likely to share that role.

Yahoo Sports wrote that defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich covered for the absences of Jalon Walker and James Pearce Jr. in what the outlet called a depleted pass rush. The same piece doubted that the secondary Joe Burrow beat badly can recover late in the season without Bates, and said the Falcons defense will be much weaker in 2026 without him.

More clarity on Atlanta's safety rotation is expected in the coming week, according to Yahoo Sports.