The 2026 NFL trade deadline is coming up on Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, and we've already seen some big moves around the league. The Atlanta Falcons got things started with a blockbuster deal that sent safety Jessie Bates III to the Jacksonville Jaguars for multiple draft picks.
Bates, who's playing in the final year of his contract, will join a first-place Jaguars team looking to make some noise in the playoffs. The Falcons received a second-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft and a fifth-round pick in 2028 for Bates.
NFL insiders expect several more moves to occur over the next 24 hours, and we wouldn't be surprised if Atlanta is involved in a few more deals before the deadline arrives on Tuesday afternoon.
Follow the latest buzz around with our Falcons
trade deadline tracker below.
ESPN grades Jessie Bates trade: Falcons declared winner
The Falcons received a "B+" grade, while Jacksonville got a "B" grade for Monday's trade from ESPN's Seth Walder. Here's an excerpt from Walder's breakdown.
"Atlanta was somewhat boxed in to making a Bates deal because it has so much cap space -- more than $110 million in 2027, per OverTheCap.com. That means they very likely will be active in free agency and therefore would have a major risk of not getting anything back for Bates if they held him through the end of the year, as acquired free agents cancel out lost free agents in terms of compensatory picks.
If the Falcons were not going to be contenders this season, then they almost had to deal Bates for the most they could get for him. And while the 3-6 Falcons are still in the race in the lowly NFC South, they had to ask themselves: Is this team really going to make a run in 2026? It seems they answered that question honestly."
Jessie Bates says goodbye to Atlanta
After news of the trade broke on Monday morning, Bates posted on his social media account that he was "forever grateful" to the city of Atlanta.
ATL Forever Grateful! 🖤 #JustBelieve
— Jessie Bates III (@jlbiii3) November 9, 2026
Falcons trade Jessie Bates to Jaguars for 2 draft picks
The Falcons traded Bates to Jacksonville on Monday morning for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round selection. Bates signed a four-year deal with the Falcons as a free agent in 2023 and he lived up to his contract as maybe the best playmaking safety in all of football. In his four seasons with Atlanta, Bates recorded 392 tackles (243 solo) and 14 interceptions over 60 games.
The Falcons lost to the Cincinnati Bengals to fall to 3-6 on Sunday, and with Bates entering the final year of his contract, it made sense that the team would look to get something for him rather than let him walk in free agency. Bates fittingly led the team with 14 tackles (11 solo) in Sunday's 34-17 loss to the Bengals.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Falcons NFL trade deadline tracker: Latest news, rumors and grades
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