The Jacksonville Jaguars‘ trade for Jessie Bates III was a bold and exciting move, the first of three deals on Monday that showed the Jags are all-in this season. They want to claim the AFC’s top seed and make a run to the Super Bowl.
They had to give up a second-round pick and a fifth-round pick to the Atlanta Falcons to get Bates, but it’s the kind of cost that could prove worthwhile if the talented free safety can make plays on the back end of the defense in the second half of the season and into the playoffs.
Bates is a proven contributor, and so there isn’t much doubt about the fact that he’ll make Jacksonville better.
There was really just one problem with the trade: His jersey number was already taken with the Jaguars. He’d need a new one.
Jessie Bates Jersey Number
Bates is going to wear the jersey number 0 with the Jaguars.
He unveiled that at practice on Wednesday as he joined his new teammates on the field for the first time.
It’s a pretty sick new look for Bates.
He previously wore the No. 3 in Atlanta. That’s taken by wide receiver Jakobi Meyers in Jacksonville.
While players sometimes take numbers from one another in exchanges, it didn’t make sense for one veteran to get a digit from another in the middle of the season. The No. 0 wasn’t occupied, and so now it belongs to Bates.
Jessie Bates Role
When Bates is ready, he’ll slot right into the deep-lying safety position for the Jaguars.
He’s one of the best centerfielder-type defenders in the NFL. He roams deep, reads the quarterback, tracks the football in the air and goes to get it.
Bates did that first with the Cincinnati Bengals and then with the Falcons. Now he’ll bring that skillset to the Jaguars.
He’s also joining quite the group of single-digit athletes on Jacksonville, which continues to check the boxes of the single-digit numbers since that became an option for players a few years ago.
Call Bates “Agent Zero.” It’s a good look in his new uniform.
Jaguars’ Jessie Bates Reveals Awesome New Jersey Number