Bengals Biggest Regret is Falcons Gain

The Atlanta Falcons have selected one All-Pro defender over the past eight draft classes. But they were able to sign an All-Pro defender still in his prime with safety Jessie Bates III two years ago.

That happened after the Cincinnati Bengals elected not to re-sign Bates following the expiration of his rookie contract.

On Wednesday, NFL Network's Gregg Rosenthal argued the Bengals should strongly regret that decision. When pressed to name one "do-over" for every NFL team currently without a winning record, Rosenthal argued Cincinnati should like to have another opportunity to sign Bates.

“You have to know what makes you great. They obviously didn’t," Rosenthal said of the Bengals. "They believed it’s this Lou Anarumo scheme, blah, blah, blah. Blah, blah, blah. Safety has been at the very core of their issues the last couple years.

“Sometimes it’s doing things the right way. Pay your players early.”

The Falcons were more than willing to pay Bates big money. Atlanta signed Bates to a 4-year, $64.02 million contract with an $18 million signing bonus.

It's turned into one of the best decisions the Falcons have made in recent years. Bates earned his first Pro Bowl nomination last season with 132 combined tackles, including 3 for loss. He also had 6 interceptions, 11 pass defenses and 3 forced fumbles.

With those totals, Bates made second-team All-Pro last year as well. He made his first second-team All-Pro with the Bengals in 2020.

This season, Bates has posted 70 combined tackles, including 42 solos. He also has a league-high 4 forced fumbles with 2 interceptions and 6 pass defenses. If he finishes the season strongly, Bates could make first-team All-Pro.

There are quite a few issues with the Falcons defense as the team enters its bye week. But Bates is not one of them, and if anything, he helped hide the Falcons' defensive problems up until the blowout loss against the Denver Broncos.

Meanwhile, in Cincinnati, the Bengals are 23rd in pass defense, 27th in third-down defense, 28th in points allowed and 31st in opponent's red zone touchdown percentage.