Falcons trading Jessie Bates III makes sense, but doesn’t lessen the sting
In brief retrospect, the final moment of safety Jessie Bates III’s time with the Falcons, the team that drafted and employed him for the first five years of his career, ended in fitting fashion.
After a 34-17 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon in Madrid, he put aside obvious frustration and, for four-and-a-half minutes, answered questions with the respect, patience and professionalism he’s grown to embody.
Bates had 14 tackles. Kendal Daniels (eight) was the only other Falcons defender with more than five. He was, once more, one of the few bright spots on a defense, and team, without much light coming from it. But there Bates was, facing and absorbing questions about his secondary’s collective struggles, about the difference in team over a stretch of four losses in five games, about what he clings to for hope that the Falcons could flip the script.
All of it is a far cry from the meaningful football Bates has so often spoken about wanting to play. He signed a four-year, $64 million contract with the Falcons in 2023, trying to be part of the solution for a franchise that, at the time, had missed the playoffs each of the previous five years.
The streak currently sits at eight. And it looks like it’s going to be nine — while Bates, at last, will get the chance to do what he’s long desired.
The Falcons traded Bates to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday morning, parting ways with a player who defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich said just days ago is the best he’s ever coached. The return is quite strong and makes the decision understandable. The Falcons landed a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round selection as they shift their vision toward the future.
Bates, 29, is in the final year of his contract. Last year, the Falcons let then-30-year-old Kaden Elliss, a leader and do-everything linebacker, walk in free agency in large part because of positional value, an argument where safeties don’t often move the needle, either.
This season wasn’t necessarily the end of the line for Bates in Atlanta, a league source who was granted anonymity told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Falcons did their due diligence on a potential extension. They reviewed the safety market to get a sense of what his deal may cost and how it may factor into their free-agency plans.
The answer led them to Monday, with a deal from Jacksonville too good to pass.
The Falcons were smart to get a solid haul in return, particularly with their rookie class — the first under general manager Ian Cunningham and coach Kevin Stefanski — showing plenty of promise and warranting optimism about what the regime can do with more capital.
But this comes at a cost, too.
There are few, if any, players in the Falcons’ locker room respected more than Bates. His captain title didn’t do justice to the leadership he provided. He was the glue, trying to keep his team from splintering.
The glue is gone. The season is at risk of spiraling. What comes next?
The peanut-puncher
Stefanski has to pitch his players that the season isn’t over. Given the diluted nature of the NFC South — all four teams have three wins and the Falcons are only a half-game out of first place, something Bates ironically pointed out Sunday night — the team, in theory, still has a goal to chase.
But dealing him sends a telling message about the Falcons front office’s perception of this year’s team and the direction it’s headed. Perhaps such a move wasn’t necessary considering the Falcons’ record, but parting with him is difficult to spin any other way.
There is no replacing Jessie Bates III.
He’s a three-time Associated Press All-Pro selection who started all 60 possible games in his Falcons tenure. He made a lot of tackles — 378, to be exact — but he made game-changing plays, too. He recorded 14 interceptions and 11 forced fumbles, and he’s the only player in the NFL with 10-plus interceptions and forced fumbles since the start of 2023.
Stefanski preaches turnover margin. No Falcons player has created more takeaways this year than Bates, who has one interceptions, three forced fumbles and one defensive touchdown.
Ulbrich called Bates the NFL’s best peanut-puncher, the play named after decorated cornerback Charles “Peanut” Tillman, who is renowned for punching at the ball and knocking it loose.
Tillman visited the Falcons’ hotel on Thursday in Madrid. It was his first time meeting Bates, whom Tillman believes is one of the two best peanut-punchers in the league — it’s between Bates and 49ers linebacker Fred Warner.
After Bates and Tillman met, Stefanski wanted to take their picture. Tillman wanted one of his own.
“I met Jessie and I was like, ‘Hey man, can I get a photo?’” Tillman told the AJC last week. “I was like, ‘I’m a fan of yours. Like, this is dope.’ I snapped a photo because I like what he’s doing, man. I really do think the peanut punch separates you.
“I’m a fan of what he does. I love what he’s doing.”
That’s the namesake of the peanut punch. There is no greater honor for a peanut-punch artist like Bates.
That’s who the Falcons traded away.
He was an underrated mentor for quarterback Michael Penix Jr., too. They were locker neighbors. They pick each other’s brain every day. Bates often breathes life into his young signal-caller. He also breathes confidence into the offense at large.
“You know at some point No. 3 is going to make a play,” Penix said Oct. 28. “That’s a guy that’s been doing it at a high level in his league for a long time. I love Jessie, man. That’s my guy.”
That’s who the Falcons traded away.
Ulbrich described Bates as “really special.” The Falcons’ defensive coordinator has started seeing second-year safety Xavier Watts pick up on some of Bates’ peanut-punching mannerisms. Ulbrich called Bates a “great role model” for Watts. Others are following suit, too.
“A lot of guys underneath us are really adopting the mentality,” Ulbrich said of Bates’ penchant for takeaways. “As we all know, the most telling stat will always be turnover ratio, and we always got to keep the ball at the forefront of our minds. And having a guy like Jessie leading that charge, I feel fortunate that way.”
That’s who the Falcons traded away.
And really, it’s hard to fault Cunningham. The Falcons decided the quality of their team — and their recent form on the field — didn’t warrant keeping the band together and making a run at the lowly NFC South.
The Falcons haven’t won the division since 2016. They haven’t made the playoffs since 2017. They’re trying to build a long-term contender, and Bates’ career is on a different timeline.
That doesn’t make the pain in the Falcons’ locker room sting any less. That doesn’t make the final eight games of this season any more winnable. But it makes sense for both parties.
Bates gets to play meaningful football. The Falcons get two lottery tickets — one likelier to hit than the other — to try to get back to playing it as well.
Whether those lottery tickets hit will ultimately dictate the Falcons’ success in the trade, but Cunningham wants to build through the draft, and he’ll now have four picks inside the top 100 next April to make it happen. The ball is in his court to build the Falcons the way he wants. The process is logical. Results must follow.