Tag: Jessie Bates III

Bengals’ bend-but-don’t-break defense will be tested against the Bills

The Cincinnati Bengals have created a defense without “stars,” but with all kinds of performers. Laurie Fitzpatrick looks at how it was created.

The Cincinnati Bengals are currently on a nine-game win streak. The offense is rolling, and the defense, despite barely coming away with a victory against the Baltimore Ravens in the wild-card round, still got the job done. Throughout the season their defense is allowing 227 points per game (23rd), but they also have an impressive 50% scoring percentage in the red zone; and over their last three games, opponents are only scoring 33.3% of the time.

The Bengals defensive line gets to the quarterback quickly, and their defensive backs disrupt at the catch point. They allow the least number of seconds per play in the league, 27.5, and they lead the league in opponent incompletions per game, with 14.2; per teamrankings.

The defense as a whole is closing out games.

Jessie Bates III’s interception against the Cleveland Browns in Week 14, Vonn Bell’s forced fumble against the New England Patriots in Week 16 and then Sam Hubbard’s fumble recovery and 98-yard touchdown win in the wild-card game. Just three examples of the defense stepping up.

The Bengals are sitting at a +6 turnover differential. That is what keeps them in games and makes them an extension of their offense. With Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase on the offensive side of the ball, the defense tends to get overshadowed, but in the end, we all know that defense wins games, and that defense has won games for the Bengals.

Now, it’s on to Buffalo for the divisional round. Let’s see how this defense might be able to upset Josh Allen and his friends.

Bengals defensive star should be top of Jaguars wish list, says The Athletic

Which impending free agent should be at the top of the Jaguars’ wish list in 2023?

The Jacksonville Jaguars have a rising young talent at safety in second-year player Andre Cisco, but should the team invest at the position to pair him with a different veteran in 2023 and beyond? Bo Wulf of The Athletic think so.

In the latest edition of his power rankings, Wulf listed one player that should be atop each team’s free agency wish list. For the Jaguars — who he ranked 17th — Wulf said Cincinnati Bengals safety Jessie Bates III would be a perfect addition to the team in the offseason.

At the moment, safety looks like one of the deepest positions in free agency, with Bates joining starters such as Nick Scott, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Vonn Bell, Julian Love, Marcus Epps, Juan Thornhill, Terrell Edmunds and Nasir Adderley. Even if it’s a notoriously difficult position for which to project scheme change, that feels like good news for a Jaguars team that ranks 30th in pass defense, by DVOA, and has already poured so many resources into the pass rush. Bates is playing on the franchise tag and it’s hard to imagine Cincinnati doubling down at this point. And after beating the Titans in Nashville for the first time in a decade, the Jaguars must feel like their luck is finally turning around (just ask Zay Jones).

Bates, 25, is a fifth-year starter in the Bengals secondary, who has 13 career interceptions and earned Second Team All-Pro honors in 2020.

Last year, Bates played a significant role in Cincinnati reaching Super Bowl LVI, recording an interception on the first play of a Divisional Round game against the Tennessee Titans, as well as an interception in the end zone during the Super Bowl.

After the season, the Bengals retained Bates with the franchise tag, but a long-term deal for the safety looks difficult with the team aiming to keep its offensive core of Joe Burrow, JaMarr Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd together.

The Jaguars presumably see Cisco as a long-term piece in the secondary, but may not feel the same way about fellow starting safety Rayshawn Jenkins, who is due to count over $10 million against the team’s salary cap in each of the next two seasons. By cutting Jenkins in the offseason, Jacksonville would save $6.25 million in space for 2023 and $8.75 million in 2024.

Jenkins, 28, has been a solid player in the Jacksonville secondary, but far from a great one. In two seasons with the Jaguars, he has one interception with two forced fumbles.

Bates would present an opportunity for the Jaguars to upgrade their secondary, but putting him No. 1 on their wish list might be a stretch. Among impending free agents who could fill positions of greater need are Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Javon Hargrave, Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Jamel Dean, and Washington Commanders nose tackle Daron Payne.

Who is holding in? Tracking the players not practicing as training camp opens

Tracking the NFL players who are “holding in” at the start of training camp as they wait for new contracts.

With the start of training camps across the league, there are always reminders that at its core, the NFL is a business.

Meaning some players are not reporting for the start of camps due to their contract status. Or, given the terms of the current CBA, they are “holding in.” Reporting to training camp, but not practicing as they try and negotiate a new contract with their teams.

Whether it is a veteran looking for a long-term extension or a younger player seeking that lucrative second deal, a few players have chosen to “hold in” at the start of training camp. Here is a running list of what players are doing just that.

AFC North: Bengals low ball franchised safety Jessie Bates

Bengals are the Bengals: Fresh off a Super Bowl appearance, Cincy played it very, very cheap with their franchise safety:

When the Cleveland Browns placed the franchise tag on TE David Njoku, it set up the possibility of a difficult negotiation between the two sides. Instead, the Browns and Njoku came to terms on a long-term deal and avoided any uncertainty of getting him locked up.

Some questioned the contract size, but getting a deal done was far more beneficial than not.

Friday was the deadline for teams who used the franchise tag to get a deal done with their franchise player. Four players, TEs Dalton Schultz and Mike Gesicki, OL Orlando Brown and safety Jessie Bates III did not get deals done before the deadline.

All four will only have the option of playing on the franchise tag this season.

Bates, the Cincinnati Bengals star safety, may have had the most difficult negotiations of the four. According to Ian Rapoport, the Bengals only offered Bates around $17 million guaranteed on a five-year contract:

Bates will get around $13 million guaranteed whenever he signs his franchise tender with the team but, again according to Rapoport, that is not likely to happen anytime soon:

Coming off a Super Bowl appearance, Cincinnati has some quality players nearing the end of their contracts that they may value more than Bates. On the other hand, Bates is a top-level safety in the NFL and is a homegrown talent who now seems likely to wait until late into training camp before signing his tender and showing up.

The NFL’s top 30 defensive free agents

With NFL free agency right around the corner, Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar drops his top 30 impending free agents on the defensive side of the ball.

NFL coaches and executives are going to converge on the city of Indianapolis for the scouting combine through the first week of March. But as much as the focus will be on interviewing and evaluating draft prospects there, the equivalent view will be on those current NFL players who will hit the open market at 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 16 when the new league year begins.

Teams are already able to apply franchise tenders to those impending free agents they don’t want to lose, and deals can be done in that context. The legal tampering period begins on Monday, March 14 at 12:00 p.m. ET, when teams can negotiate with players who will be free agents two days later. Players and teams can agree to deals before the March 16 deadline, but no deals can be made official until the new league year begins.

With all this in mind, here are our top 30 defensive free agents — the players who will be on the open market once the new league year begins, and can do the most to improve the defenses of their new — or old — teams.

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Football Outsiders, Pro Football Focus, and Sports Info Solutions unless otherwise indicated).

Ryan Tannehill throws pick on first play of Bengals-Titans

Ryan Tannehill threw an interception on the first play of the AFC Divisional Round game between the Titans and Bengals

It didn’t take long for the Cincinnati Bengals to gain the edge in the turnover battle in their playoff game Saturday against the Tennessee Titans.

Jessie Bates III was in the right place as he picked off the Titans’ Ryan Tannehill on the first play of the game.

The play wound up costing Tennessee three points as Evan McPherson kicked a 38-yard field goal and Cincinnati took a 3-0 lead.

A penalty against Cincinnati helped the Bengals.

It appeared as if Joe Burrow had been sacked on third down but the officials had blown the play dead for delay of game.

Burrow completed a pass on the third down and put McPherson in line for a much easier field-goal try.

Zac Taylor calls Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell best safety duo in league

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor had some high praise for his safety pairing.

While the Cincinnati Bengals have showcased a strong offense through six games thanks to the Joe Burrow-Ja’Marr Chase duo, their defense has also quietly been a major reason the Bengals are 4-2.

The Bengals currently boast the league’s eighth-ranked raw total defense and are No. 5 in Defense DVOA at Football Outsiders.

Part of that has been their dynamic duo at safety, Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell. In fact, head coach Zac Taylor gave them quite the praise Monday, calling them the best safety tandem in the NFL.

There are a lot of quality safety pairings in the NFL, including the pair in Buffalo, Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer.

Bates (32) and Bell (31) currently total more tackles than Hyde (24) and Poyer (24). Though, to be fair, Hyde and Poyer have five combined interceptions while Bates and Bell don’t have any.

Nonetheless, high praise, as expected from Taylor, for two of his leaders on defense. Of course, what this is also going to do is fuel talks from fans that the Bengals need to extend Bates, who is in a contract year.

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The NFL’s most egregious Pro Bowl snubs in 2020

Every year, Pro Bowl votes come out, and every year, there are snubs. Here are our most egregious omissions in this year’s voting.

There will be no Pro Bowl game in 2021 due to COVID concerns, but the NFL has released its Pro Bowl rosters for the 2020 season, which you can see here. While most of the players are deserving, there are also reputation picks that don’t match up with performance — and just as surely, there are players who should absolutely be Pro Bowlers who aren’t.

Why is this a big deal? Pro Bowl selections matter. They matter in contract negotiations, and they matter in Hall of Fame voting. It’s important that the NFL’s best players are regarded as such in any season, which is why I’ve taken the time to list the snubs in this year’s Pro Bowl voting.

It’s the best we can do.

The most underrated defensive players through the first half of the 2020 NFL season

Every year, there are NFL players who perform well under the radar. Here are Touchdown Wire’s most underrated defensive players in 2020.

Though the best NFL players see their exploits magnified on a week-to-week basis, every season also sees those players who work very well under the radar, and do not get the attention their level of play deserves. If you’re a great player on a bad team, that can reduce your prominence. If you’re a low-drafted or undrafted younger player just coming into your own, it can take a second for everyone to catch up with how good you actually are. And if you’re coming back from a rough season or two, perhaps recency bias is not your friend.

RELATED: The most underrated offensive players through the first half of the 2020 NFL season

That said, a number of underrated defensive players have caught our eye — enough to put a more than credible team on the field — and here’s the list: Touchdown Wire’s most underrated defensive players through the first half of the 2020 season.