Falcons Trade Safety Jessie Bates to Jaguars Before Deadline

The Atlanta Falcons are sending Pro Bowl safety Jessie Bates to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a 2027 second-round draft pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick, according to sources who spoke with ESPN's Adam Schefter, as reported by the New York Post. Three days before that report surfaced, Bates was photographed at a training session in Valdebebas, Madrid, as Atlanta prepared to face the Cincinnati Bengals, the city where his NFL career began.

The trade lands more than 24 hours ahead of the NFL's deadline, making Bates the first marquee name to change teams in this year's deadline window. Atlanta will cover most of the remaining money on his contract to get the deal done, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

What Did the Falcons Get for Jessie Bates?

Atlanta's return is two future draft picks: a second-rounder in 2027 and a fifth-rounder in 2028, per Schefter's reporting. Neither pick is attached to a specific draft slot yet, since both come from future classes rather than the current one, which is typical for a trade made this close to a deadline when teams want long-term value rather than immediate roster help.

Why Is Atlanta Paying Most of Bates' Salary?

Bates is in the final year of the four-year, $64.02 million contract he signed with the Falcons in March 2023. Rapoport reported that Atlanta will pay most of his $6.5 million salary for the 2026 season to complete the trade, a structure that effectively lowers Jacksonville's financial commitment for the remainder of the year while Atlanta absorbs the cost of moving on from a player it is choosing not to keep.

What Does Bates Bring to the Jaguars' Defense?

Bates started all 60 possible games since joining Atlanta in 2023, compiling 14 interceptions, 11 forced fumbles and 392 tackles over that span, numbers cited in the Post's report. He is the only player in that period with at least ten interceptions and ten forced fumbles, a distinction that underscores the ball-production element he adds to a secondary. Bates was named to the 2023 Pro Bowl and has earned Second-Team All-Pro honors three times.

How Did Bates Get to Atlanta in the First Place?

Bates spent his first five NFL seasons with Cincinnati, the team that drafted him in the second round in 2018, before signing with the Falcons in free agency in 2023. The trade sends him back into the AFC, though not to the Bengals — instead to a Jacksonville team looking to add a proven ball-hawking safety as it manages its own roster ahead of the deadline.

By the Numbers

• $64.02 million — total value of Bates' four-year contract signed with Atlanta in March 2023
• $6.5 million — Bates' salary for the current season, most of which Atlanta will still pay, per Ian Rapoport
• 14 — interceptions recorded by Bates across his three-plus seasons with the Falcons
• 11 — forced fumbles over the same stretch
• 392 — total tackles since signing with Atlanta
• 60 — consecutive possible games started by Bates since joining the Falcons
• 2027 second-round pick and 2028 fifth-round pick — Atlanta's return from Jacksonville

What Happens Next Before the Trade Deadline?

The Bates trade arrives with more than a full day still on the clock before the NFL's deadline closes, and the Post notes it is being treated as the first major domino in what is expected to be an active 24 hours of dealing. Jacksonville now adds a Pro Bowl-caliber safety to its defense without taking on the bulk of his remaining salary, while Atlanta collects future draft capital in a year in which the team is restructuring its secondary. Neither club has released a statement beyond the terms reported by Schefter and Rapoport, and no press conference or official transaction announcement had been posted at the time of the initial reporting.

For Bates, the move means a third team in three organizational homes since he entered the league in 2018 — Cincinnati, Atlanta and now Jacksonville — a path shaped as much by contract timing and draft-pick economics as by performance on the field.

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