The Atlanta Falcons defense has done their part so far this season, despite the 34 points they surrendered in Sunday's loss to the Carolina Panthers.
Heading into Week 3, the Falcons have the best run defense in the league and are among the top-five teams in pressures despite not having their two best edge rushers on the field.
That being said, the Falcons' postseason hopes are already slim even in a weak NFC South division. If they keep losing, it's possible they'll consider looking ahead. That could include putting some of their better veterans on the trade block. According to Kristopher Knox at Bleacher Report, star safety Jessie Bates III may be one of them.
"Michael Penix Jr. is set to make his 2026 debut on Thursday night, and if he can put
one in the win column early, Bates will probably be off the table. He was arguably the team's most reliable defender last season, having started all 17 games and allowing an opposing passer rating of only 73.7 in coverage... If Penix cannot right the proverbial ship, though, Atlanta may start selling off veterans in preparation for the 2027 draft."
While the secondary would definitely miss Bates, he does have the highest cap number on the team this year, just shy of $25 million. Trading him would save the Falcons around $10.75 million this year according to Over the Cap, plus another $7.5 million total over the next three years.
Then again, trading Bates also comes with over $19 million in dead money and would open up a huge hole on the back end of their defense.
Even if Atlanta's playoff hopes for 2026 are sunk, we'd still rather keep Bates around.
This article originally appeared on Falcons Wire: Falcons star defender named among early NFL trade candidates
