The Buffalo Bills were faced with a decision to make on guard Ryan Bates after he signed an offer sheet from the Chicago Bears as a restricted free agent. Today, the Bills ultimately decided they weren’t willing to let Bates walk out the door, as they signed him to a 4-year deal worth $17 million. Brad Briggs of the Chicago Tribune reported that the first two years of the deal are guaranteed and will pay Bates $8.8 million.
The #Bills will match the RFA offer sheet for OT Ryan Bates, per GM Brandon Beane. It’s a 4-year deal for Bates.
After limited action in his first two seasons, Bates finally got an opportunity in his third season in Buffalo. He got his chance to play at left guard in week 15 of this season and played well enough to start for the remainder of the season.
In four regular season and two postseason starts, Bates showed enough to attract interest from not just the Bears, but he also visited with the Patriots and Vikings. He was only penalized once and allowed no sacks in his short time as the starter.
Bills fans can now breathe easy, as the line in front of Josh Allen is solidified: LT Dion Dawkins; LG Rodger Saffold; C Mitch Morse; RG Ryan Bates; RT Spencer Brown. They also added depth to the offensive line Monday, signing Ike Boettger to a one-year deal.
Bills GM Brandon Beane was able to get out of the contracts for Jon Feliciano and Darryl Williams, saving $14 million by cutting the two veterans, and in turn will be paying Bates and Saffold a combined estimated cap hit of $8.8 million in 2022.
As for Bears GM Ryan Poles, after losing Bates to Buffalo’s matched offer, he had two words to describe it: “It stinks.”
