Jessie Bates’ days as a Cincinnati Bengals are over.
The 26-year-old safety will be joining the Atlanta Falcons, signing a four-year $64.02 million deal.
Ironically, that’s essentially the deal that the Bengals turned around and gave stud left tackle Orlando Brown. So it’s safe to say that losing Bates paved the way for Brown to become a Bengal.
Bates spent the first five seasons of his NFL career with the Bengals, logging 478 career tackles, 14 interceptions, three forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. He earned Second-Team All-Pro honors after a 2020 campaign that saw him log 109 total tackles and grab three interceptions and helped the Bengals reach Super Bowl LVI the following season.