5 riskiest NFL free agency moves that could backfire
By Lior Lampert
3. Jessie Bates to the Falcons
There is no denying Jessie Bates’ talent. He’s a ball hawk who has routinely been among the NFL’s best safeties since he was drafted in 2018.
Bates played a large role in the Bengal’s most recent Super Bowl appearance. After playing last season on the franchise tag last season, the stud safety decided to test the free agency market. This decision proved to pay off rather quickly, as the Falcons signed him to a monster deal.
The Falcons got their guy, but it came at a steep cost. They have now made him the highest-paid safety in 2023, and by a wide margin at that. It is a lot of money to allocate to a position that a lot of teams deem replaceable. The Bengals have embodied the mindset of devaluing the safety position, allowing both of their starting safeties from 2022 to leave in free agency.
Again, Bates is a remarkable player who will provide a boost to the Atlanta secondary. However, the Falcons are far from any sort of contention and/or relevancy, even in a wide-open NFC South division. The Falcons have so many other needs on both sides of the ball. They need to address their wide receiver room as well as both their offensive and defensive lines.
With that being said, it is strange to see them commit such a hefty amount of money to the safety position. Kudos to Jessie Bates for getting the money he deserved, but it would not be a shock to see this move backfire for the Falcons.