Bears Miss Out On OL Ryan Bates As He Signs Four-Year Deal With Buffalo

On Thursday, the Chicago Bears gave an offer to Buffalo Bills’ offensive lineman Ryan Bates. He is a restricted free agent and the Bills had five days to match the Bears’ offer. Today, NFL Insider Ian Rapoport announced that the Bills will match the offer and keep Bates. They are signing him to a four-year contract.

Prior to Buffalo giving Ryan Bates a new deal, he was on a one-year contract worth $2.4 million. The Bills clearly wanted to keep their offensive line intact and for good reason.

Shortly before the Bills matched the Bears’ offer, they signed another of their offensive linemen, Ike Boettger. With that move, some thought Bates was a lock to bring his talents to Chicago.

If there’s one thing the Bears can learn from this, it’s that consistency on the offensive line is crucial. Clearly, the Buffalo Bills understand this concept and the Bears should take a page out of their book. Bears’ GM Ryan Poles, a former offensive lineman, has the experience necessary to navigate these waters.

He saw something in Bates and the Bears lost out on him. But Poles still has plenty of time to build that unit exactly the way he wants it.

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Pat Boadway

Husband, father, and Chicago Bears fan bringing you the noteworthy news surrounding the Monsters of the Midway, beer in hand. #Crackum