Are Chicago Bears optimistic they will land Ryan Bates?

The Chicago Bears recently sent an offer sheet to Ryan Bates. Bates, an offensive lineman for the Buffalo Bills is a restricted free agent, which means that the Bills will have five days to match this offer. If they match the offer, then Bates has to sign in Buffalo. If not, he will head to Chicago.

While the team will not get an official decision until tomorrow, they do have a sense of what will happen based on the silence from the Bills’ side.

The Bills have not yet decided, and the indecision is what has a tuned-in Bears reporter assuming the team is optimistic.

This makes sense in a few ways. The first is that the Bills are being so hesitant. If it was an easy decision, they would have made it quickly and easily. The fact that they waited through the weekend, and very well may end up waiting until the deadline shows that the team is truly debating this and they do not see it as a no-brainer.

The team also could be pressed against the cap. While the Bills can clear $6M rather easily, the structure of the contract could put the Bills in a tougher spot.. If the deal is front-loaded it could mean the team has to clear more money, or at least debate the worth of jumping through hoops just to retain Ryan Bates.

While Bears fans should be excited about the possibility of Ryan Bates, they also have to understand the situation as it is. Bates is being offered a contract that may be lower-end starter money at most. In most cases, it is around $5M per year.

If the Bills saw Ryan Bates as a cannot miss player, and someone they could not do without they would find a way to bring him back. They are not as confident in what he is, and this is the team that traded for him and saw him play his best last season with them. Bates could be a nice addition for the Bears, but it still minimal, and the Bills know it or they would match,