Getty Bengals safety Jessie Bates could be a fit for the Seahawks.
The Seattle Seahawks are hoping to end this season on a high note, but the team’s chances of returning to the playoffs will likely have to be tabled for 2022. The Seahawks face a critical offseason with a tall task of improving the current roster to once again return the team to being an NFC contender.
According to Bleacher Report’s Chris Rolling, Bengals safety Jessie Bates is a name for Seahawks fans to watch this offseason. Bates likely only makes sense if the Seahawks are unable to re-sign star safety Quandre Diggs. It is hard to imagine the Seahawks paying Bates, Diggs and Jamal Adams. Rolling mentions the Seahawks, Patriots and Bengals as the top potential landing spots for Bates.
“Like Williams, Cincinnati Bengals safety Jessie Bates isn’t a line-of-scrimmage player who could disappoint on a big extension; he’s a rangy safety with elite coverage skills,” Rolling detailed. “In fact, Bates graded out at 90.1 at PFF in 2020. He tallied 109 total tackles, 15 passes defended, three interceptions and a forced fumble over 16 games.”
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The Seahawks Could Find a Bargain With Bates
Bates has struggled throughout the 2021 season earning just a 49.6 grade (out of 100) from Pro Football Focus. This could be good news for the Seahawks as Bates’ recent production may provide a bit of a discount in free agency.
“And while he’s technically let up 21 catches on 26 targets this year, he’s yet to allow a touchdown,” Rolling added. “Over his first 10 games, he still had 59 total tackles with an interception while admitting his slow start to the season partly had to do with the distraction of not getting a contract extension.
“Truthfully, even a struggling Bates is a better option in deep center field than most teams boast. The fact he’s still just 24 and has played in 93 percent or more of his defense’s snaps over his first four years will have teams lining up to possibly help him reset the market.”
Bates Admitted His Upcoming Free Agency Impacted His Play This Season
The Seahawks’ top preference should be to keep Diggs, but the team may be reluctant to give the star safety a lucrative contract given Adams’ just signed a four-year, $70 million deal last offseason. Bates admitted that his uncertain future has impacted his play on the field this season.
“I feel like I’ve been just a step away from making big-time plays,” Bates told Bengals.com in November. “As I watch games earlier yesterday, the teams that are winning football games, their main players are making plays for them. And I haven’t done that this year. I know that. I’m aware of that, like I said before. I’ll be excited to make more plays and celebrate with my teammates as I do it. …I think it kind of goes into everything. I feel like I’m at a better head space now than I was at the beginning of the season.”
The Seahawks May be Reluctant to Pay Both Diggs & Adams
Diggs had a brief “hold in” during the preseason before the Seahawks agreed to restructure the final year of his contract. The Seahawks safety has been one of the few bright spots during an otherwise dismal season in Seattle.
“Protect myself just as the team protect themselves,” Diggs told reporters on August 31 amid his training camp negotiations with the Seahawks. “I got a family to feed also, so for me, I had to make the best decision for me. Like I said, I wouldn’t say it was a statement, I mean, I’m grateful to be here and I tell you guys that all the time.
“I’m grateful to be here. I’m blessed to be a Seahawk. So, for me, I just think it was, I wouldn’t say a reset, but there were some things that I needed to patch up on my end to get figured out.”