The releasing of C.J. Gardner-Johnson this past week was no surprise for Bills fans, but it doesn’t take away the fact that Buffalo still has a major problem in their secondary. Whether Gardner-Johnson was out there or not, the Bills’ backend of their defense has been in shambles this season.
Up until Week 8 against the Baltimore Ravens (who lost both of their Top 2 QB options in the first half), the Bills' secondary was allowing 285 yards through the air per game. For a team that has a championship window at 6-1, that weakness is going to cost them big time at some point if they don't fix it.
Bills' secondary issues can be temporarily fixed with key veteran safety
With the NFL trade deadline coming this Tuesday on November 10th at 4PM EST, Brandon Beane has to find a way to upgrade the defense, especially the secondary. ESPN's Seth Walder listed a trade scenario where the Bills could land one of the more overlooked safeties in the game, Jessie Bates III from the Atlanta Falcons. Walder has the Bills sending a 2027 3rd-round pick and a 2028 6th-round pick.
"The Falcons have over $109 million of 2027 cap space (most in the NFL), per OverTheCap.com. So they're almost guaranteed to be active in free agency, which in turn means there's a chance they wouldn't get a compensatory pick for Bates (because signings cancel out departures when compensatory picks are distributed). If the Falcons keep Bates through the deadline, the risk they lose him for nothing is high." Walder wrote.
"Buffalo is in the opposite cap situation, so this would be like a short-term signing. But Bates probably would net them something like a fourth-round compensatory pick in 2028 if he signed elsewhere next offseason, significantly softening how much draft capital Buffalo is giving up in this scenario." Walder added.
Jessie Bates III would be a short-term fix for Bills' defense
Bates has been one of the more underrated safeties that no one talks about. He is still well in his prime and he's had atleast 1 interception in every season of his career, with having a season-best 6 interceptions in his first season with the Falcons in 2022. In addition, he hasn't missed a game for the Falcons since joining them.
In this trade proposal, Walder did note that the Falcons could convert all of Bates' money (except the minimum) into a signing bonus which would help the Bills' financially due to their limited cap space.
If the Falcons, who are currently at 3-5 and coming off a 16-0 loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers despite Baker Mayfield not completing a single pass, are looking to move Bates, then Buffalo should absolutely be calling to solidify the backend of their defense for the remainder of the season.
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