After three-and-a-half seasons, the Jessie Bates III era in Atlanta is over. The Falcons traded the All-Pro safety to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a 2027 second and a 2028 fifth-rounder in a move that signals the Jags' intent to be legitimate contenders.
Shortly after news of the trade broke, Bates took to X, formerly Twitter, to deliver a parting message to Atlanta upon his departure.
“ATL Forever Grateful!” Bates wrote.
Bates arrived in Atlanta from the Cincinnati Bengals in free agency in 2023 and has been one of the best safeties in the league during that time. Over four years, he featured in all 60 possible regular-season games, starting every one of them. He had 392 total tackles and 14 interceptions as he made 2nd Team All-Pro twice (2023 and 2025). He is on the final year of his contract, which also played a part in him getting traded.
In nine games for the Falcons this season, Bates had 60 total tackles and one interception. Just a couple weeks ago, Bates joined an exclusive club with his outstanding performance to hand the San Francisco 49ers their first loss of the season.
Bates now joins a Jacksonville Jaguars team that's at the top of the AFC South at 6-2 and has ambitions of making some noise in the playoffs. They are coming off a dominant 33-10 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night. He figures to take over from Rayuan Lane as the team's other starting safety. Lane had been promoted after Eric Murray's elbow injury. Murray has been placed on injured reserve.