Ryan Bates signed an offer sheet with the Bears as a restricted free agent, but the offensive lineman is going to be sticking with the Bills rather than moving to Chicago.
The Bills matched Chicago’s offer of a four-year deal, so Bates will stick with the team that he’s played 41 regular season games and five postseason games for over the last three seasons. Bates called the Bears’ offer “something you can’t really turn down,” but that he was hoping to hear good news from General Manager Brandon Beane about the Bills’ response all along.
“I told Beane at the end of the season, I want to be a Bill and I want to stay in Buffalo,” Bates said, via the team’s website. “And thankfully, it came to the conclusion where I get to stay in Buffalo for the next four years, which is an unbelievable opportunity. I’ve created a lot of relationships in my past three years in Buffalo and these next four I’m going to create even more, so just looking forward to it.”
Bates only started four of those regular season games that he’s played for the Bills, but three of them came at left guard at the end of last season and he remained a starter in the postseason. Matching the offer from Chicago suggests the Bills continue to see a role for Bates in 2022 and beyond.