One of new Jaguars safety Jessie Bates III's best traits is his availability. He has only missed three games in his nine-year career, and he has played the most defensive snaps in the NFL over the past four seasons.
Now, he's set to take that to another level: After getting traded from the Falcons to the Jaguars early Monday morning, Bates has the opportunity to appear in 18 games this season. The Falcons had not reached their Week 11 bye yet, and the Jaguars already had their bye back in Week 7.
Bates would not be the first player to appear in 18 games since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, but the list is quite short.
Played 18 regular-season games since merger | Reason |
2025 Dre'Mont Jones | |
2025 Rashid Shaheed | |
2024 Mike Williams | |
2023 Leonard Williams | Traded from Giants to Seahawks |
>> Jessie Bates III can join list this year |
Of course, Bates needs to continue his excellent run of availability to join the list, but that's the track he's on now.
On one hand, it's a tough break for Bates, who won't get a bye week. On the other hand, it's a big upgrade for Bates as he goes from a 3-6 team to a 6-2 team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations. The three-time All-Pro has not appeared in a playoff game since 2022, when he was with the Bengals.
This also leaves the door open for more history. The record for most games played in a season, including playoffs, is 21. Bates' maximum potential number of games played this year currently sits at 22: 18 potential regular-season games plus four potential playoff games if the Jaguars aren't the No. 1 seed in the AFC and make it to the Super Bowl.
