You don’t go to two consecutive Championship games without having a talented roster. While Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase are the stars of the Cincinnati Bengals, general manager Duke Tobin has assembled a deep pool of impact players.
Yet, one of those key defenders, All-Pro safety Jessie Bates III, is set for free agency after five seasons with the team. Bates, still just 26 and coming off a career-best four-interception season, is one of the top safeties headed to free agency this offseason.
The Bengals have plenty of other bills to pay, including a likely contract extension with Burrow, possibly Tee Higgins, and next season, paying Chase too. Plus, Cincinnati made some contingency plans already by selecting safety Daxton Hill with the 31st pick in the first round of last year’s NFL Draft.
This is all to suggest that Bates is expected to sign with a new team in free agency, according to NFL insider Jordan Schultz.
- Jessie Bates stats last season: 71 tackles, 8 PD, 4 INTs, 1 FF
Bates graded as the 10th-best safety in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus in 2022 (min. 50% snaps played). While he was able to capitalize on creating turnovers, Bates is actually much more known for his ability to stuff the box and help out in run defense, where he earned the third-best grade among safeties.
Teams looking for an experienced, hard-hitting safety who has a reputation for making plenty of stops will have great interest in adding Bates to their roster this offseason. Bates, who was born in Indiana, and attended Wake Forest, should have plenty of suitors on the open market. But from the sounds of it, the Bengals won’t be the ones willing to shell out a large contract for the 6-foot-1, 200-pound star.
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