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.
