The Chicago Bears tendered an offer sheet to Bills restricted free agent guard Ryan Bates, the Chicago Tribune reported Thursday morning.
Bates had visits with the Bears, Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots.
The report did not specify the amount of the tender.
The Bills have five days to match any offer that Bates receives.
According to contracts website Spotrac, the Bears have more than $23 million in cap space, so it's possible they could structure a contract that is difficult for the Bills to match.
Bates, who is 6-foot-4 and 302 pounds, entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles, which meant the Bills had three options when it came to making him an offer as a restricted free agent. They could have put a first- or second-round tender on him, which would have meant another team would have had to give the Bills a first- or second-round pick as compensation had they signed Bates. The cost of those tenders, however, $5.562 million and $3.986 million, respectively, made it highly unlikely that would occur. Instead, the Bills tendered Bates at $2.433 million, meaning they would receive no draft compensation if he signed elsewhere.
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Bates was a pleasant surprise for the Bills at the end of the 2021 season, taking over as a starter in Week 16 against the New England Patriots. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Bills' offensive line seemed to hit its stride from that point forward, and Bates maintained his spot in the starting lineup through the postseason, making it likely that the Bills would do what they could to retain him for 2022.
