Jessie Bates Trade: Jaguars Land Falcons Safety

Last updated: Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, 8:15 a.m. ET. This is a developing story. The trade was reported by multiple outlets but had not been officially announced by either team at the time of writing.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are getting one of the best safeties in football. Jacksonville agreed Monday morning to acquire Jessie Bates III from the Atlanta Falcons for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter. NBC Sports and Yahoo Sports reported the same terms within minutes.

Bates is one of the most accomplished players to move with the deadline a day away, and searches for "Jessie Bates" jumped past 5,000 on Google Trends within the first half hour.

Jessie Bates trade terms

Here is what each side gets, per ESPN:

NBC Sports said reports indicate Atlanta will pay part of what's left on Bates' salary this season to make the money fit. How much hadn't been reported as of Monday morning.

Bates is 29 and in the final year of the four-year deal worth just over $64 million that he signed with the Falcons in 2023, ESPN reported last week. That makes him a rental for Jacksonville unless the two sides work out an extension.

Why the Jaguars wanted a safety now

Jacksonville is 6-2 and had a hole in the back end. Veteran safety Eric Murray is out for the season with an elbow injury, and Antonio Johnson has also been banged up, NBC Sports noted.

The front office has done this before. Last November, general manager James Gladstone sent third- and fourth-round picks to the Las Vegas Raiders for receiver Jakobi Meyers, the Florida Times-Union pointed out Monday. This time the price is steeper, a second-rounder, for a player who has been on All-Pro teams.

Bates has been productive again this year. Through nine games he has 60 tackles, an interception, three forced fumbles and a fumble return for a touchdown, according to NBC Sports. He was a second-team All-Pro for the third time last season.

Why Atlanta sold

The timing tells most of it. The Falcons lost 34-17 to the Bengals at the Bernabéu in Madrid on Sunday, their fourth loss in five games, which dropped them to 3-6, NFL.com reported. They were flagged 12 times in that game and couldn't slow Joe Burrow in the first half.

Bates didn't sound like a man packing his bags after the game. "You look at our division, we're still a game and a half or a game behind everyone," he said, per NFL.com. "This is a long season. We are just halfway through it. We will see what happens."

A day later, Atlanta chose the picks. With his contract ending after the season, Atlanta could have lost him in free agency and gotten nothing back now. Xavier Watts, who has started next to Bates, is the likeliest player to take on a bigger role.

Who is Jessie Bates?

Bates spent his first five seasons, 2018 to 2022, with the Cincinnati Bengals and was part of the team that reached the Super Bowl after the 2021 season. He signed with Atlanta as a free agent in 2023 and made the Pro Bowl in his first year there, ESPN said.

Sunday's game in Spain was a reunion with his old team, and he called his Cincinnati years "some of the best times of my life" before kickoff, per ESPN. Some Bengals fans spent the weekend hoping Cincinnati would trade for him. Jacksonville got there first.

What's next before the NFL trade deadline

The deadline is 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Nov. 10. ESPN's tracker listed nine trades as of Monday morning, with Bates the latest.

The biggest name still out there is Colts running back Jonathan Taylor. Teams have shown interest, but no deal had been reported as of Monday morning. In late October the Bears made their own defensive move, adding Jeffery Simmons in a trade with Tennessee.

Still unconfirmed: neither team had announced the deal, the exact amount of salary Atlanta is covering, and when Bates could first play for Jacksonville. We'll update this story as the teams make it official.