Jessie Bates didn’t miss a game in an Atlanta Falcons uniform.
From the moment he signed a free agent contract with Atlanta in 2023, he became a stalwart at safety, and they never had to worry about not having him.
Bates played 17 games in 2023, 17 games in 2024, 17 games in 2025 and had played in all nine games so far this season.
It was a great run for Bates in Atlanta, but that came to an end on Monday — the Falcons have traded Bates to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a second-round pick and a fifth-round pick.
Bates is gone, and with him goes the consistency that he brought to the back line of Atlanta’s defense.
The Falcons are clearly looking at least a bit toward the future, given that Bates is in the last year of his contract.
They got great value in return, and so they’ve said goodbye to Bates. On Monday morning, Bates didn’t take long to sign onto social media and bid his own farewell.
Jessie Bates Says Goodbye
Only about a half hour after the trade was reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Bates shared a post on his X account (formerly Twitter).
He wrote “ATL Forever Grateful!” with a black heart and the hashtag, #JustBelieve.
It’s a simple message, but a good one.
A player who shows up each and every week to play for his team is one that fans can appreciate. Bates was also a playmaker from his safety spot, the kind of ballhawk who watches the quarterback and gets after the football once it’s in the air.
A safety is always going to have a play or two where he loses the battle and gets beat — but more often than not, Bates made the kind of plays that got Falcons fans off their feet.
What’s Next for Falcons?
The Falcons will now have to decide whether to move other players, although the list of logical candidates to be traded by Atlanta isn’t a long one.
The reality is that Bates was a special case. Because of his talent, the Falcons could get good draft pick value in return even for a player on an expiring contract. Atlanta decided it couldn’t pass that up.
Bates, while having to deal with an in-season move, does get to go to a Super Bowl contender in Jacksonville. It could work out nicely for him, and the Falcons will potentially reap the rewards of that 2023 signing of Bates for years to come with the draft picks he has now brought back to Atlanta.
Jessie Bates Bids Farewell to Falcons