Bills to retain Ryan Bates by matching Bears offer originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Bears will miss out on another potential free agent signing. Buffalo Bills GM Brandon Beane told reporters on Monday that he plans to match the offer sheet that restricted free agent offensive lineman Ryan Bates signed with the Bears last week.
A restricted free agent is any player who has three accrued years of NFL experience, with an expired contract. RFAs are free to negotiate with any team, but their previous team can tender them contracts at various levels. The highest-paying tenders can give first-round draft pick compensation to the RFAs previous team, if they decide not to match an offer sheet the RFA has signed with another team. In Bates’ case, the Bills reportedly gave him a “right of first refusal” tender, meaning the Bills had five days to match the Bears’ offer sheet to retain him. According to multiple reports, that offer sheet was for a four-year deal.
Bates…