Bills re-sign OL Ryan Bates by matching Bears' offer
The Chicago Bears tried to pry offensive lineman Ryan Bates from the Buffalo Bills, but he's not going anywhere.
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Bears offered Bates a four-year deal that was matched by the Bills. As Bates is a restricted free agent, Buffalo had the right to match any offer he was given to retain him.
The Bears have been mostly quiet during the 2022 offseason with their most consequential move being a trade that sent Khalil Mack to the Los Angeles Chargers. So Chicago general manager Ryan Poles wasn't too enthused that one of his few attempts to make an acquisition fell through.
Bates, 25, was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2019 and acquired by the Bills in a trade during his first NFL training camp. He spent the majority of his first three seasons as a backup, but stepped into Buffalo's starting lineup late in the 2021 regular season and continued to hold down a starting role into the playoffs.
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