Ryan Poles did what he could to get Ryan Bates to become a member of the Chicago Bears. Unfortunately, the Buffalo Bills were able to match the offer to bring him home instead of letting him walk. For those who don’t know, since Ryan Bates was a restricted free agent, he was allowed to get offers from other teams. Bates would then accept an offer and the Bills would have five days to match the offer.
Reports started coming out that Brandon Beane didn’t intend on matching the offer. Additionally, most teams match the offer almost immediately if they plan on bringing the player back. All in all, things were looking promising for the Bears to land Bates. After four days, the Bills decided to match the offer. It was reported to be a four-year deal worth $17 million and $8.8 million guaranteed.
The Chicago Bears need to target a new offensive guard after missing out on Ryan Bates
Poles attempted to stump the Bills. Most restricted free agents don’t receive a four-year deal as they normally are questionable players who go on one or two-year deals. Even Bates is arguably questionable as he only has four starts in his three-year career. Most Bears fans didn’t even know who he was until a few days ago.
Now, Poles must pivot. Clearly, Bates was a long-term option to Poles, and they now likely need to lock up a player on a two-year deal who is still available to be a stop-gap while they develop their next offensive guard. Here are three players who they can still target that are free agents.