Jessie Bates to sign with the Atlanta Falcons, as we all expected

The Atlanta Falcons have made another big move on this beautiful Monday, they have agreed to a massive deal with Jessie Bates—arguably the best safety on the open market.

Obviously, things cannot be official until Wednesday but it sounds like the Falcons will have a new leader on the backend of their defense.

The inevitable has happened, the Atlanta Falcons agree to deal with Jessie Bates

Almost all fans will be ecstatic to hear that the Atlanta Falcons will be signing free-agent safety from the Cincinnati Bengals, Jessie Bates, to a big contract.

Ian Rapoport, while talking about something unrelated on-air on NFL Network, made the announcement after he was interrupted by his phone with the huge news. He is reportedly going to sign a four-year, $64 million contract. Lots of money but he is a great player who will go a long way in fixing this defense.

Now, the Falcons have agreed to a contract with both David Onyemata and Jessie Bates. Onyemata is a solid signing and Bates is the big splash we were all hoping for.

Bates will join a secondary that already features one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL in A.J. Terrell, a proven veteran Casey Hayward (who will hopefully stay healthy), and an ascending young safety in Richie Grant.

It seems like this deal will push Jaylin Hawkins out of the starting spot after his solid season. Grant is a former second-round pick by the current regime, so they will likely favor him, not to mention, Grant is a very versatile player who can line up everywhere.

Adding Bates will allow new defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen to do a lot of things on the backend. There is a lot of talent back there and so now the success of the defense will likely depend on how the defensive line performs.