Grading the Bears’ trade for Bills OL Ryan Bates

The Chicago Bears made a trade Monday night, but it wasn’t the blockbuster QB deal that the NFL is eagerly awaiting. Justin Fields is still a Bear (for now), and whether it’s him or Caleb Williams in the lineup in 2024, Chicago may have acquired the center who’ll be doing the snapping.

The Bears traded a 2024 fifth-round pick for Buffalo Bills interior offensive lineman Ryan Bates, who, if you recall, was a player GM Ryan Poles targeted in 2022 when he signed him to a four-year offer sheet in free agency. To much of the Bears’ surprise, the Bills matched the offer and sent Chicago’s offensive line plan into a tailspin that offseason.

Now, two years later, Poles gets his guy. And it’s a dude with a good chance to start at center in 2024.

Sure, Bates didn’t start for the Bills in 2023, so naturally, fans will argue that getting excited about acquiring a backup is foolish. But that’s not really the case. Bates was arguably the sixth-best offensive lineman on a team that sported one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. You can only start five guys, and if Bates was a Bear in 2023? You can rest assured he would’ve been one of the five best offensive linemen on that roster.

With Cody Whitehair sent packing and Lucas Patrick not expected back in 2024, Bates is one of the five best offensive linemen on the team right now. He’s certainly the best center on the team, and there’s no doubt Poles made this trade with an eye toward Ryan Bates being the team’s starter — at least initially — next season.

I say initially because there remains a chance Poles could target Connor Williams (Dolphins) in free agency or add a Day 2 rookie center to the roster. Both strategies would likely require a bridge option at the position to begin the year, and Bates fits that job description. In fact, he fits that job description better than any rookie they could’ve added in the fifth round of the 2024 draft.

That seems like a win to me.

There’s also the contract aspect of this move by the Chicago Bears. Bates signed a four-year, $17 million contract in 2022, but he has no dead money remaining over the next two seasons. If he doesn’t work out, all it cost the Bears was a fifth-round pick.

Again, another win.

Overall, I like this trade for the Bears. No, it doesn’t mean Chicago’s quest for a long-term answer at center is over, but it certainly makes me feel better about the state of the offensive line on the eve of free agency. Poles doesn’t have to get desperate now, and that’s a psychological edge once the big money starts getting thrown around.

GRADE: B