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It’s more than 24 hours till the NFL trade deadline, but teams aren’t waiting.
The Falcons are sending safety Jessie Bates to the Jaguars in exchange for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick, sources tell ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Atlanta will pay most of Bates’ $6.5 million salary to complete the deal, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Bates is in the final year of a four-year, $64.02 million contract signed in March 2023.
Bates spent the first five seasons of his career with Cincinnati, who drafted him in the second round of the 2018 draft, before leaving for Atlanta in free agency.
Bates was selected to the 2023 Pro Bowl and is a three-time Second-Team All-Pro selection.
Bates started all 60 possible games since signing with the Falcons and totaled 14 interceptions, 11 forced fumbles, and 392 tackles.
Bates is the only player with ten-plus interceptions and ten-plus forced fumbles during the four-year span.
In Jacksonville, Bates will replace injured starter Eric Murray, who was placed on injured reserve on November 3rd with a season-ending elbow injury.
The Falcons are in a transitional phase, and though they’re just a game out of first place in the NFC South at 3-6, they were unlikely to re-sign Bates after the season. They’ll now have the most salary cap space in the NFL this coming offseason to build around Bijan Robinson, Drake London, and Kyle Pitts, who are all under long-term contracts.
The 6-2 Jaguars, meanwhile, are considered one of the best teams in the NFL and have shored up their pass defense with the acquisition of Bates. The Jaguars rank fifth in rush defense but 22nd in pass defense. They’re league leaders in turnover ratio and third in interceptions. The Jaguars hope Bates will turn into the midseason difference maker that receiver Jakobi Meyers became on offense last season when he caught 42 passes for 483 yards and three touchdowns in the second half of the season.
Through nine games this season, Bates has 60 tackles, one interception, three forced fumbles, and a fumble return for a touchdown.
