Former Penn State offensive lineman Ryan Bates inks long-term contract
Offensive lineman Ryan Bates became the latest former Penn State player to sign a long-term deal in the NFL.
The Buffalo Bills officially announced a four-year contract for Bates on Monday evening. Bates, a restricted free agent this offseason, received interest from several teams.
The Chicago Bears reportedly offered Bates $17 million over four seasons, with $8.8 million of that being fully guaranteed.
Holding the right to match the offer under the restricted free agency system, the Bills decided to do exactly that.
“We were tight on the cap, but we decided to bring Ryan back,” Bills general manager Brandon Beane said. “It’s really important for us to be strong up front.
“Ryan’s a versatile player. He can actually play all five spots. But most importantly he’s been a center-guard when he’s filled in and we thought when he had his opportunity this year he did a heck of a job starting the last [three] regular season and then the two postseason games. It didn’t seem too big for him.”
Bates came out of relative obscurity to play a crucial role for the Bills down the stretch last season, playing both guard positions for the eventual AFC East champs.
He earned just his second career start in Week 15 against New England, playing all 79 of Buffalo’s offensive snaps in a 33-21 victory.
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He got the start against the Atlanta Falcons and New York Jets, too, as the Bills closed out the regular season with two more wins.
Bates settled in at left guard, playing each and every snap for the Bills in the playoffs. In the five games Bates started for Buffalo to close out the year, the Bills’ offense averaged 34.4 points.
Former Penn State OL Ryan Bates takes unlikely path to a long-term deal
Bates turned in a solid career at Penn State.
He started from his redshirt freshman season onward, earning third-team All-Big Ten honors from the coaches and media in his final two seasons with the Nittany Lions.
But that didn’t put him on the draft radar of NFL organizations.
Bates only got his shot as an undrafted free agent, signing with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Shortly thereafter, the Eagles traded him to Buffalo. He took part in eight of Buffalo’s games that season, playing 15 percent of the offensive snaps. In his sophomore campaign, he played in only eight percent of the Bills’ snaps on offense.
This offseason, after a five-game breakout, he had NFL executives grappling to secure his services.
“I just found that out. It stinks. But that’s part of the RFA process,” Bears general manager Ryan Poles told reporters when informed the Bills would be matching his offer to Bates.
“So we’ll adjust and we’ll keep adding players. It’s out of your control. It’s just part of the deal where you put your best foot forward and we did. We came strong, and that’s given back to their team and it’s up to them whether they want to match it. It is what it is. We’ll adjust like everything else.”
