The Chicago Bears have made it their mission to reshape the offensive line this offseason. They already landed one future starter in Lucas Patrick. The former undrafted free agent from Green Bay should be their center moving forward. GM Ryan Poles isn’t done, though. His latest pursuit involves another former undrafted player in Ryan Bates. The 25-year old emerged on the scene last season for the Buffalo Bills, filling in at multiple positions before becoming their starting left guards towards the end of the season.
He was excellent during that stretch, allowing a mere four pressures on the quarterback in five games and looking strong in the run game. Many feel he could be a really good player for years to come. Unfortunately, the Bills have run into a problem. They’re out of money. A tight salary cap forced them to use an original round tender on Bates, a restricted free agent. That meant if anybody wanted to sign him, they could make an offer without fear of paying a draft pick in return for his services.
It was a prime opportunity for a determined enough team.
That was when the Bears emerged. Their assistant GM Ian Cunningham helped recruit Bates to the Philadelphia Eagles back in 2019. So they were familiar with him from the start. Luke Getsy is also a disciple of college coaching legend Joe Moorhead. Bates played under him at Penn State. It seemed like a natural fit. Sure enough, the emerging blocker ended up accepting Chicago’s offer. This means Buffalo now has five days to match it. Based on what John Wawrow of The Charlotte Observer is hearing, the odds are low they will do so.
“The Buffalo Bills stand to lose Ryan Bates after the offensive lineman agreed to sign an offer sheet to play for the Chicago Bears, a person with direct knowledge of the decision confirmed to The Associated Press on Thursday. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the discussions are private. The Chicago Tribune first reported the move earlier in the day…
…The value of the offer sheet was not revealed.
Buffalo has very limited space under its salary cap, which already counts Bates’ contract, and the team would have to free up additional space to match the Bears’ offer.”
According to Spotrac, Buffalo has around $2.3 million in cap space. They need that for their upcoming 2022 draft class. So if they wanted to keep Bates, they’d have to juggle other major contracts on the books. Considering they just signed veteran guard Roger Saffold, it doesn’t seem like they’re prepared to go those extra lengths to keep him. So unless there is a significant contract adjustment in the next few days, Bates could come to Chicago.
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Ryan Bates is exactly what the Bears are looking for
He fits the profile of what Poles has wanted: a young, ascending player that comes cheap. Better still, his playstyle also fits the new offensive identity the team wants to build—one of physicality and nastiness. Too often, the Bears’ offensive line was considered soft by other NFL teams. That showed up a lot in 2021. A team doesn’t allow 58 sacks otherwise. This is why guys like James Daniels and Germain Ifedi were allowed to leave.
Ryan Bates and Lucas Patrick might not be former high draft choices, but they share many things in common. They’re hardworking, athletic, intelligent, and play with a mean streak. When protecting their quarterbacks, you better be prepared to fight. Presuming this move goes through, the Bears’ interior offensive line should be set with those two and Cody Whitehair.
The next big question will be what Poles does at tackle.
Chicago drafted Teven Jenkins and Larry Borom last year. As of right now, both are projected to be starters. That doesn’t figure to stay true for long. Rumors persist the Bears management isn’t as high on Borom as the previous regime, while Jenkins could be moved back to his original position of right tackle. Lots of questions left to sort out.
