Jessie Bates: I’m thankful for the struggles that…
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Bengals safety Jessie Bates has been through it.
Drafted in the second round back in 2018, Bates was a good player through some lean years with Cincinnati. The club went finished in last place in each of Bates’ first three seasons, winning six, two, and four games.
But then things changed in 2021. And Bates is now one of the key defensive players who’s propelled Cincinnati to Super Bowl LVI.
In his Thursday press conference, Bates said he appreciates the first three years of his career for how they shaped him.
Bates pointed to a meeting last year that head coach Zac Taylor held with him, receiver Tyler Boyd, and running back Joe Mixon, challenging them to step up and embrace the situation after Joe Burrow tore his ACL.
“We knew what we had here. We knew what we were building,” Bates said. “Sometimes it comes with the struggle, but if you learn from it, it’s not really the struggle — it’s just part of the process that’s the beauty at the end. So, thankful for the struggles that we had.
“I think that’s why we’re so close as a team. And we’re accepting of those guys that are coming in from free agency, from the draft. People feel comfortable — even people coming in Week 10 feel like they’ve been here for the whole year. So I think that’s part of it, not just talking football, but the relationship part and having the right people in the locker room is a big deal.”
If the Bengals come away victorious on Sunday, those three losing seasons might make the Super Bowl win even sweeter for Bates and the teammates who have gone through it with him.
