Bears Acquire OL Ryan Bates in Trade With Bills

The Bears and Bills are in agreement on a trade that will send Ryan Bates to Chicago.

The Buffalo Bills have secured another pick in the 2024 NFL draft, having agreed to a trade with the Chicago Bears, which will see veteran offensive lineman Ryan Bates head to Chicago, per a team announcement. 

In exchange for Bates, the Bills will receive a fifth-round pick in April’s draft. The deal is set to become official–pending a physical–on March 13, when the new league year begins. 

Bates, 27, has spent the first five years of his NFL career in Buffalo, having featured in 73 games after going undrafted in 2019 out of Penn State. He made 19 starts for the Bills, including 15 during the 2022 season, but was used as a backup in ‘23.

With the addition of Chicago’s fifth-round pick, Buffalo has 10 selections in the upcoming draft, including three in the fifth round.

The Bears had previously expressed interest in Bates in 2022, when he was a restricted free agent. They signed him to an offer sheet, but the Bills matched their four-year, $17 million offer. Two seasons later, Bates will land in Chicago via trade.