Less than 24 hours after losing their sixth game of the season, the Atlanta Falcons executed a trade to send safety Jessie Bates III to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a second-round pick in 2027 and a fifth-rounder in 2028.
Bates, a Pro Bowl playmaker known for his elite ball skills, joins an AFC contender in Jacksonville while the Falcons get some draft capital for the future. The move suggests Atlanta is selling at this week's trade deadline, however, head coach Kevin Stefanski said that was not the case during his Monday press conference.
"Obviously, we're not where we want to be, we want to play better, but we’re very much in the thick of this thing and we trust in the guys that we have," said Stefanski. "I understand the question, and I understand the question in light
of the trade, but in no way, shape or form."
Nonetheless, the Falcons now have a Jesse Bates-sized hole at safety, but Stefanski said DeMarcco Hellams would step into the starting lineup going forward.
"Obviously, DeMarcco is the next man up that we feel really good about," Stefanski said of Bates' replacement.
Hellams and Bates have different playing styles. Bates is more of a free safety, due to his elite range and coverage ability. Meanwhile Hellams is more on the strong safety end. So we expect Xavier Watts to fill some of Bates' role going forward, however, most teams have abandoned the idea of traditional safety roles at this point.
The Falcons drafted Hellams in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Alabama. He appeared in 15 games as a rookie, recording 40 tackles (25 solo) and one QB hit. Hellams then missed all of his second season after breaking his ankle during the preseason.
The fourth-year safety is one of former Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot's rare Day 3 draft hits. We would also expect to see defensive back Sydney Brown get some extra reps with Bates out of the picture.
Check out the Falcons' updated 53-man roster and practice squad following Monday's trade below. Plus, follow each move with our trade deadline tracker.
Quarterbacks (4)
- Michael Penix Jr. (9)
- Tua Tagovailoa (1)
- Andy Dalton (13)
- Jack Strand (18)
Running Backs (2)
- Bijan Robinson (7)
- Khalil Herbert (25)
Wide Receivers (6)
- Drake London (5)
- Jahan Dotson (4)
- Olamide Zaccheaus (14)
- Zachariah Branch (17)
- Chris Blair (19)
- Beaux Collins (88)
Tight Ends (4)
- Kyle Pitts (8)
- Austin Hooper (81)
- Charlie Woerner (89)
- Nick Muse (87)
Offensive Linemen (8)
- Jake Matthews (70)
- Matthew Bergeron (65)
- Ryan Neuzil (64)
- Chris Lindstrom (63)
- Jawaan Taylor (71)
- Ethan Onianwa (75)
- Kyle Hinton (68)
- Corey Levin (62)
Defensive Linemen (9)
- Gervon Dexter (95)
- Brandon Dorlus (54)
- Maason Smith(92)
- LaCale London (94)
- Za'Darius Smith (55)
- Cameron Thomas (99)
- Zach Harrison (96)
- Charles Snowden (47)
- James Pearce Jr. (27)
Linebackers (6)
- Divine Deablo (0)
- Kendal Daniels (53)
- Harold Perkins Jr. (56)
- Christian Harris (45)
- Josh Woods (42)
- Yasir Abdullah (22)
Defensive Backs (10)
- A.J. Terrell (24)
- Avieon Terrell (12)
- Mike Hughes (21)
- Billy Bowman Jr. (33)
- C.J. Henderson (26)
- Mike Ford Jr. (28)
- Xavier Watts (31)
- DeMarcco Hellams (23)
- Sydney Brown (29)
- Robert Longerbeam (37)
Special Teams (3)
- LS: Liam McCullough (49)
- K: Nick Folk (6)
- P: Jake Bailey (16)
Falcons practice squad
- WR Vinny Anthony (86)
- OL Kam Dewberry (61)
- WR Dylan Drummond (80)
- DB Darnay Holmes (30)
- OT Riley Mahlman (76)
- TE E.J. Jenkins (84)
- WR Antwane Wells (82)
- OL Josh Thompson (67)
- DL Zacch Pickens (93)
- RB Khalil Herbert (25)
- LB Brian Asamoah (41)
- RB Jam Miller (38)
- S Jammie Robinson (34)
- LB T.J. Quinn (43)
- DE Drake Jackson (91) ELEVATED vs. Bengals
- LB Jared Ivey (51)
Reserve Lists
- OT Cameron Williams (Reserve/Injured): Designated To Return
- OT Storm Norton (Reserve/PUP)
- LB DeAngelo Malone (Reserve/PUP)
- DE Keshawn Banks (Reserve/Injured)
- LB JD Bertrand (Reserve/Injured)
- LB Jalon Walker (Reserve/Injured)
- RB Trey Sermon (Reserve/Injured)
- DT Anterio Thompson (Reserve/NFI)
- OT Michael Jerrell (Reserve/Injured)
- Da'Shawn Hand (Reserve/Injured)
- DE Samson Ebukam (Reserve/Injured)
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski names new starting safety
