Will Buffalo Bills match Chicago Bears offer for Ryan Bates
The Chicago Bears reportedly sent an offer sheet to Ryan Bates that he will accept. Ryan Bates is a restricted free agent, so he will have to show the Buffalo Bills the offer sheet, and the Bills will now have five days to match the offer.
The fact that the Bears sent the offer sheet is not a surprise, but there are still questions as to how much they offered, and whether or not that would be too much for the Buffalo Bills.
The Chicago Bears currently have more cap space than the Buffalo Bills, but the Bills can also free up $6.5M in cap space rather easily with two restructures. So, the question will come down to whether the Bears offered a deal that will take up over $6M or not.
If they offered over $6M, the Bills will not be able to accept the deal, and the discussion gets very simple from there. Still, as we have noted that may be an overpay. If Ryan Poles has conviction in his man, so be it.
However, nothing Poles has done so far shows that he is going to overpay players in free agency. What Poles likely did is give Bates a generous offer that will at least give the Bills a tough decision.
If no team gave Ryan Bates an offer, then Bates would have to walk back to the Bills and sign a deal $2.4M deal.
So, Ryan Poles had to beat an offer of $2.4M or Bates would have just walked back to Buffalo, but $6M is an overpay that would become a questionable decision for the Bears.
The likely outcome comes in between, that he offered somewhere between $3M and $5M per year. Based on the structures, and the possible years that are added to the contract it is much more desirable than a 1 year deal for $2.4M.
This deal would be considered a good market price for Bates if he were not restricted. So, if Poles offer Bates a deal for what he believes the market price is, and the Bills accept that deal, he should not feel like he lost out for not overpaying. He gave a strong offer, and the Bills had enough money to match.
Next. Projecting Bears WR depth chart. dark
If Poles offers a reasonable deal and the Bills do not match, then he has a possible starter making reasonable depth money. Bates is young and versatile as well.
The Bears were not going to let the Bills walk away with a bargain, so they offered what they believe is fair. Now, we will see if the Bills decide to match.