OL Ryan Bates glad Bills matched offer from Bears

Offensive lineman Ryan Bates first entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2019 and ultimately found a home with the Buffalo Bills, where he's been since his rookie year. He made only four regular-season starts across three campaigns, but they all came this past season.

Bates thought he'd be heading to the Chicago Bears as a restricted free agent this spring after they offered him a four-year deal. However, Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane matched that offer and, thus, was able to retain Bates' rights. 

Per Maddy Glab of the Bills' website, Bates spoke with reporters Tuesday and admitted he's thankful he's staying put. 

"I told Beane at the end of the season, I want to be a Bill and I want to stay in Buffalo," the 25-year-old explained. "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."

In total, Bates has played in 41 regular-season games and five postseason contests during his Buffalo tenure. According to Nick Fierro of SI.com, the four-year deal Buffalo matched is worth up to $17 million with $8.8 million guaranteed. 

"I'm not changing my mindset at all," Bates added about putting pen to paper on an agreement he called "life-changing" during his comments. "Even though I might be getting paid more money, I'm still grinding. As an undrafted free agent the first three years, you're undrafted in the NFL until you prove otherwise. I think I've had the opportunity to prove otherwise. And I'm not going to change my mentality on how I attack every day and how I compete on the field." 

It's believed Bates will be given a chance to compete for a full-time starting role later this summer.