Bengals: One All-Pro might have just revealed his new team
The Cincinnati Bengals probably made their peace with the possibility of moving on from safety Jessie Bates III the moment they used the franchise tag on him last year. Now, the two sides seem closer to a divorce than ever before. David Mulugheta, Bates' agent, uploaded an Instagram story over the weekend showing he was […]
The Cincinnati Bengals probably made their peace with the possibility of moving on from safety Jessie Bates III the moment they used the franchise tag on him last year. Now, the two sides seem closer to a divorce than ever before.
David Mulugheta, Bates' agent, uploaded an Instagram story over the weekend showing he was joining the 2020 second-team All-Pro safety for dinner. But the Bengals' defender wasn't sharing a table for two with his representative.
Instead, they were both joined by a group of Atlanta Falcons. The players who appear in the video are Kyle Pitts, A.J. Terrell, and even Casey Hayward. You can watch the clip in the tweet below.
Of course, the upload could mean anything. Mulugheta represents some of the best players in the league and he clearly knows what he's doing. But Bates hanging out with some of the Falcons' biggest starts definitely raises an eyebrow.
While there aren't any clear coaching connections between Bates and the Falcons, there's a big reason why the Bengals safety could be interested in playing for Atlanta: money.
Per Over The Cap, the Falcons count with $56.5 million in salary cap space. That's the second-most in the entire league.
If I had to take a not-so-wild guess, I'd assume at some point during dinner, the conversation about potentially becoming a Falcon had to come up.
Under the franchise tag, Bates recorded eight pass deflections, four interceptions, one forced fumble, and 71 tackles for the Bengals in 2022. He's likely to become one of the highest-paid safeties away from Cincinnati as the front office focuses on getting Joe Burrow's contract extension done.
Featured image via Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
