Ryan Bates' Bizarre Journey with the Bears

It's unclear what about 27-year-old offensive guard Ryan Bates piqued the interest of Ryan Poles. The Bears general manager tried to bring Bates into the fold as a restricted free agent in 2022, but the Buffalo Bills matched the offer sheet, and the Bears were left to pivot.

Fast forward to this past offseason, and Poles finally got his guy by sending a fifth-round pick back to Buffalo. There were a few talking heads who questioned the move at the time. After all, Bates was relegated to backup duty and the Bills ended up outright releasing the starter ahead of him on the depth chart. Why trade away draft capital for a player that his own team didn't feel was worthy enough to start?

The initial plan was for Bates to compete for Chicago's starting center spot and provide some depth at the guard positions. Unfortunately for him and the Bears, Bates suffered a shoulder injury early in training camp and had to be placed on injured reserve before the start of the regular season.

According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, Bates was dealing with an arthritis issue so severe that it hindered him from doing basic movements.

“It was all pain management and I was in excruciating pain,” Bates said. “I couldn’t do a push-up. I couldn’t lift my arm above being parallel to the ground. I couldn’t do a whole lot because there was no movement in that joint because everything was in so much pain.”

Because there was nothing wrong with his shoulder, structurally, surgery wouldn't be the answer. After consulting with a few other players, Bates turned to stem cell treatment. The only problem was that it wasn't available in the United States. Bates needed to travel overseas to a place called Auragens in Panama City. The treatment only lasted five days, and Bates noticed a difference within 72 hours of being finished, per Biggs.

Unfortunately for Bates, as soon as he was back in action with a newly healed shoulder, he had to exit early from Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers due to a concussion.

While the 'Ryan Bates era' isn't off to a promising start, the Bears will still rely heavily on him to help out with the interior line due to Teven Jenkins' injury and the recent departure of Nate Davis. Will Poles' bizarre obsession with Bates live up to the hype? It appears we still need more time to find out.