Jessie Bates has been the subject of trade speculation all offseason long, but the Atlanta Falcons may not be ready to move on from their fan favorite safety. And by the sound of it, Bates isn't ready to make his way out of Atlanta, even with a new regime coming to town who has been shaking things up.
The Falcons' voluntary offseason program kicked off on Tuesday, and as you would expect, Bates led by example and was in the facility. That's exactly what you would expect from a team captain and a leader of the secondary, especially after breaking his silence on his future in Atlanta with the media.
"“I wanna retire a Falcon.""Jessie Bates III
Bates is set to be a free agent next offseason, but revealed that he doesn't want to go anywhere. He even said he wanted to retire with the Falcons at the podium today, so assuming talks pick up and he is able to get a deal done with Ian Cunningham, his wish should come true and put all noise to bed.
Jessie Bates made it clear he wants to retire with the Atlanta Falcons
The 29-year-old signed a four-year deal with the Dirty Birds during the 2023 offseason and should be in line for another big payday, but perhaps he's willing to take a team-friendly deal to remain in Atlanta. If he wants to stay with the team that bad, it's only fair to put your money where your mouth is.
Even though Bates is set to play for his third different head coach in four seasons in Atlanta, it hasn't deterred him from embracing the black and red week in and week out. Not only has the three-time All-Pro been the leader of the secondary, he has become a fan favorite for a multitude of reasons.
Honestly, the 2018 second-round pick from Wake Forest is far too valuable for the Falcons to lose, both on the field and in the locker room. He's the one who helped mentor Xavier Watts into one of the NFL's brightest young safeties and kept the locker room together after three straight losing seasons.
Statistically speaking, Bates had a major down season in 2025, but never missing a game in three season as a Falcon makes him well worth extending at the right price. He's the model of consistency for this defense, so as long as he's around, he and Watts will continue to do damage on the back-end.
Raheem Morris can try to bring him to San Francisco all he wants and the media can try to push that narrative all they want, but Bates isn't going anywhere anytime soon-- and for good reason.