Bates to play on franchise tag

The Bengals and S Jessie Bates reportedly didn't come close to reaching a longer-term deal before Friday's deadline for franchise-tagged players. That leaves Bates to play out 2022 on the tag, and likely means he'll be finding a new team after the season. Bates struggled early last year and admitted that the lack of a new contract had distracted him. We'd bet on him not getting caught up in the same cycle this time around. Bates has spent most of his career as a strong IDP performer at an inconsistent position. We'd feel comfy drafting him in 2022.

The Falcons have agreed to a four-year, $64 million deal with S Jessie Bates III, according to multiple sources. Bates is coming off arguably his worst season, his fifth with Cincinnati. Bates' final two years with the Bengals were marred by contract squabbles, as he sought an extension and then played 2022 on the franchise tag. His tackles dwindled, despite no significant change to his role. And Bates matched the lowest Pro Football Focus coverage grade of his career, just two seasons after he led all safeties in overall PFF grade. Atlanta clearly believes the 26-year-old will rebound. We're betting he'll take over the role Jaylinn Hawkins played last year and start next to former second-round pick Richie Grant. The Falcons' safety roles proved nearly interchangeable in terms of where they lined up, which could mean a little more time in the box for Bates. Like Atlanta, we don't have any real long-term concern for Bates' performance. Check out where he sits in our dynasty rankings.

Bengals S Jessie Bates has re-joined the team to play out the season under the franchise tag, according to multiple reports. Bates skipped training camp after he and the team failed to work out a longer-term extension. (It wasn't technically a holdout, because he wasn't under contract.) Returning now still gives him a little more than 2 weeks to be ready for the regular-season opener. We haven't moved Bates down our IDP rankings at all through his absence. We'll watch to make sure he's on track for a full start to the year.

The Bengals are applying the franchise tag to S Jessie Bates III. The move keeps the star safety from hitting unrestricted free agency. We'll see whether the 2 sides can reach agreement on a long-term deal, though. Bates admitted during the 2021 season that distraction over his lack of a contract extension was inhibiting his play. His performance rebounded. Now we'll see about the relationship. Bates posted his worst fantasy season among 4 years in 2021, with the primary culprit a lack of coverage plays. He averaged 10.3 passes defensed through his 1st 3 campaigns, snagging 3 INTs each year. Last season found Bates collecting just 1 INT and 4 passes defensed.

The Bengals have ruled S Jessie Bates out for Thursday night's game against the Jaguars with a neck injury. We haven't seen any indication yet this is expected to be a multi-week issue, but we'll watch for updates. It'll either be Sean Davis or Brandon Wilson filling in.