It is nice to be wanted.
And last March, wow, was Ryan Bates wanted.
By completing his third season with the Buffalo Bills, offensive lineman Bates became a hotly pursued restricted free agent. The New England Patriots and Minnesota Vikings expressed strong interest. The Chicago Bears even signed Bates to an offer sheet.
But on March 28 the Bills matched Chicago’s terms – which Buffalo had the right to do – and the Warrington native inked an extension that keeps him on Lake Ontario’s shores for four years.
“You can’t turn down life changing money, but at the end of the day, it all worked out,” Bates shared. “I really wanted to stay in Buffalo. I’m so happy that they decided to match. It was fantastic.”
It is no mystery why Bates was in such high demand. Jumping in for the injured Ike Boettger, Bates started the last five games of the 2021 Bills’ season at guard, with the last two coming in the playoffs. Buffalo won the first four games by at least 12 points.
Buffalo lost the fifth, an AFC Divisional round game at Kansas City, 42-36 in arguably the greatest NFL game in a generation. The two teams combined for 25 points in the final two minutes of regulation before the Chiefs eked out an overtime win.
During those give games, the Bills’ offensive line allowed just two sacks. The unit did an excellent job of protecting Josh Allen, Buffalo’s rising superstar quarterback.
Allen “is a big kid who wants to have fun and play football. At the same time, he is very professional with the way he goes about things and carries himself,” Bates described. “Honestly, he is one of the better guys I have come across in my journey in the NFL. I can’t be happier than to play with someone like him just from the sheer talent, but also his personality.”
Buffalo’s ability to plug and play Bates anywhere on its offensive line makes him valuable. It’s as if there is a law that every article on Ryan Bates must mention the word “versatile” somewhere.
“Throughout my career, I’ve played left tackle and right tackle. Left guard and right guard. Center. A little bit of jumbo tight end. Being versatile has gotten me to the level where I’m at today,” credits Bates, who is a natural center.
“I always tell people that when you learn center, everything falls into place in terms of knowing the playbook,” Bates explained. “If you know center, then you know guard. If you know guard, then you know tackle. If you know tackle, then you know tight end. That didn’t happen overnight. It took a couple of years, and trial and error, to get this knowledge.”
An NFL starting lineman needs to be a bulldozer with ballerina feet; Bates fits that description. Yet the mental side of Bates’ job often goes unappreciated to the casual fan.
“A lot of people assume that you’re big, strong and fast so you just go out, play ball and hit the person across from you. Of course, you need physical toughness to be at this level,” Bates stated. “But at the end of the day it’s more mental toughness and the mental capacity you need to know the plays, know certain defenses, spend all the time that goes into watching film and learn the playbook.” Bates pointed out that each week essentially features a new playbook as the staff adjusts the offense.
It’s doubtful that Bates saw all of this unfolding three years ago. A very good three-year starter at Penn State, Bates’ name went uncalled in the 2019 draft. He signed with the Eagles as a free agent, was traded to Buffalo early in the preseason and latched on to the Bills’ 53-man roster. Bates debuted in a Week 5 win over Tennessee and played in seven more games on special teams.
Bates made his first start this past Oct. 4, though he appeared in every game in both the 2020 and 2021 seasons. “The higher the level you go, the more physically and mentally you have to get better each step of the way. You have to keep grinding, put your head down, keep doing what I’ve been doing since high school,” Bates said.
“At the end of the day, football is football. You have to learn the technique that is being taught, and you have to trust the coaching that is being coached to you. Those years I had of being on the roster: not being a starter but learning from the people in front of me – watching Mitch Morse. Watching Daryl Williams,” Bates continued. “Professionals that have been doing it for a long time. It’s picking up habits from the older guys, learning and absorbing as much information as possible.”
Before he started in the NFL, Bates started – and starred – at Archbishop Wood. Some of his favorite memories were the two state titles that he won with the Vikings. He also “was fortunate enough” to play in the Under Armour High School All-American game in Tampa, an experience he treasured.
“I had close bonds with the people I got to play with. We were all kids from different areas of the city and suburbs. Some of us probably never would have crossed paths if it weren’t for football,” Bates noted. “To this day, those guys are some of my best friends in the world.
“I was a big kid,” Bates joked. “My mom always says that she stopped holding me in her arms, because of my sheer weight, when I was 3 or 4.” It may have been tough then for Mrs. Bates to put down her not-so-little boy, but Bates’ size – and work ethic and brains – has since paid off in a big, big way.
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