Through the 2024 off-season, the Chicago Bears have made four total trades. Most remember the stunning acquisition of Keenan Allen from Los Angeles. He is a big addition to their receiving corps. There was, of course, sending Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a conditional 6th round pick. One also can’t forget their jump back into the draft, sending a future 4th round pick to Buffalo for their 5th round pick this year, which eventually became Kansas edge rusher Austin Booker.
However, there was another trade that people seemed to have forgotten. It was actually the first one GM Ryan Poles made back in March. That 5th round pick they got from Buffalo was originally Chicago’s. They’d sent it to the Bills in exchange for Ryan Bates. The veteran guard was somebody Poles had his eye on since 2022. Former scouting director Greg Gabriel of Windy City Gridiron explained that people are sleeping on this move. Bates is a much better player than he gets credit for.
“Ryan Bates and Coleman Shelton are very good football players. The Bears have wanted Bates for the last two years, as they signed him to an offer sheet when he was an RFA in 2022. When Bates’ team, the Buffalo Bills, got into a salary cap crunch going into the 2024 League year, the Bears asked if Bates was available. Being that the Bills were $45 million over the cap, they gladly made the trade. The trade had NOTHING to do with Bates’ performance on the field.
Shelton had been the Rams starting center for most of the last two seasons. He is a very versatile player in that he can also play guard (as can Bates). The Bears, with those two players, are now in a position of strength at the center position, and talking about Connor Williams is beyond ridiculous.”
This isn’t coming from a place of ignorance. Poles has already proven he has a sharp eye for offensive line talent. Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright are good examples. He thinks Bates exhibits the qualities he searches for in a blocker. The GM isn’t wrong. Bates has a reputation for power, mobility, and nastiness. He is a blue-collar worker who brings effort and intensity to every snap. The guy might not be the most talented player on the field, but he finds a way to get the job done.
What makes him such a good acquisition is his versatility. He’s logged time at both guard and center. That gives the Chicago Bears options on where to plug him in. Right now, he is competing for the starting center job with Coleman Shelton. That said, he is also insurance if Nate Davis continues to prove unreliable after his rough first year in 2023. Good trades are ones that can benefit a team in multiple ways. That is what the Bears have accomplished by adding Bates.
