The Atlanta Falcons are sitting at 3-6 and their playoff hopes are growing slimmer by the day. So ahead of tomorrow's trade deadline, Ian Cunningham decided to make a splash in his first trade deadline as a GM, making the only big move the Falcons could and trading away Jessie Bates III.
It would've taken the Falcons a Godfather-like offer to consider trading Bates, but the Week 9 loss to the Bengals changed things. Atlanta has lost four of their last five games, and while they're still alive in a tight NFC South race, it was worth considering dealing their only tradeable asset at the deadline.
The question was whether it'd be worth dealing Bates now for the right price. The options are either let him walk in free agency and pick up a comp pick, sign him to an extension, or trade him now and land a better return than any comp pick, and Cunningham opted to make the splash move.
The Dirty Birds are reportedly trading the All-Pro safety to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick. That's a good return for a player in a contract year who's about to turn 30, but it denotes this team isn't ready to compete yet, at least not currently.
The Atlanta Falcons are trading Jessie Bates to the Jacksonville Jaguars
There is no denying how important Jessie Bates is to the Falcons, both on and off the field. He'd been playing out of his mind of late, but the chance for Cunningham to pick up another early draft pick and allocate their league-leading $143.4 million in cap space is a more impactful way to end a rebuild.
The only players in the NFL with more forced fumbles than No. 3 are Fred Warner, David Bailey, Quincy Williams, and Jordan Davis, so his impact is immeasurable. He's one of the best in the business at the peanut punch, he can be a ball hawk, and his ability to make plays all over the field is second to none.
The thing is, that with how he'd been playing of late, he was likely going to command over $20 million per year on a new contract, and Ian Cunningham doesn't want to make that investment. It's similar to Kaden Elliss, who is roughly the same age and was not retained by the new regime this offseason.
The 29-year-old now joins a 6-2 Jaguars team that is basically destined to win the AFC South, so he shouldn't complain about (slightly) warmer weather while playing for a team with real playoff aspirations. He spent three-and-a-half seasons in Atlanta and never even sniffed the postseason.
As for the Falcons, it should signal they are not trying to compete right now, which was already clear. They were too inconsistent to look like a playoff contender, and the upcoming schedule is the hardest in the NFL. We're not sure if they have a franchise QB yet, so the goal should be on the future, which means picking up extra draft capital and hoping this new front office will be able to hit on these picks.
The Atlanta Falcons made an unpopular, and frankly a surprising decision by trading Jessie Bates, so hopefully it doesn't blow up in Ian Cunningham'a face.
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