The Atlanta Falcons are home to one of the NFL's brightest young defensive backs in Xavier Watts. As a rookie, Watts' five interceptions tied for second in the league, and he was a Defensive Rookie of the Year finalist. Essentially, he cemented himself as cornerstone of this defense for years to come.
Between Watts and Jessie Bates, the Falcons boast one of the best safety tandems in the NFL. Having not one, but two elite safeties who have the instincts and the ball-hawk ability to make life easier for a weaker cornerback room because of all of the takeaways they manage to generate.
However, Atlanta can separate their dynamic duo in the near future. Bates is entering a contract year and will command a pretty penny on a new deal, but the emergence of his new running mate has sparked a new question: do they even need to bother extending Jessie Bates anymore at this point?
Because of Xavier Watts, the Falcons can afford to lose Jessie Bates III
Spotrac projects the 29-year-old's market value to be three years and around $50 million, which would be roughly $16.7 million in average annual value. He's currently the ninth-highest paid safety in the NFL, and these terms would keep him there. But unlike with the other players he's paid, safety isn't a premium position, and keeping Bates prevents him from ever truly passing the baton to Watts.
The biggest thing the Falcons would lose with Bates is leadership, as he's been a captain in all three of his seasons with the franchise--and is likely to be one again in 2026. However, A.J. Terrell revealed that the 23-year-old has taken on a larger leadership role and Watts has been more vocal in practice.
The interesting thing here is that Watts will be on his rookie deal for another three seasons, so the Dirty Birds theoretically do have the flexibility to keep this duo in place for the foreseeable future. But it remains to be seen whether or not Ian Cunningham wants a pay a safety about to enter his thirties.
It's not like paying Bates is a requirement, either. Watts was sidelined for most of OTAs and mandatory minicamp as a precautionary measure due to injury, but has returned to the field during training camp, where the 2025 third-round pick from Notre Dame has looked primed to build on his sensational rookie season as a sophomore.
With Xavier Watts taking on a larger leadership role this summer, the Falcons are faced with a dilemma: should they pay Jessie Bates to keep the duo in place or allow Watts to take on the role of the alpha on the back-end after the season?
Add us as a preferred source on Google