“It stinks.”
That was Ryan Poles’ reaction when he learned the Buffalo Bills matched the offer sheet Ryan Bates signed with the Chicago Bears last week, giving the first-year general manager more work to do to upgrade the offensive line.
The Bears were optimistic they would land Bates, a versatile lineman that generated solid interest as a restricted free agent. The Bills were snug against the salary cap and the Bears offered a player with only four career regular-season starts $17 million and a four-year contract with the first two years, roughly $8.85 million, fully guaranteed.
