The Bears showed persistent interest in Ryan Bates, inking the veteran offensive lineman to an offer sheet in 2022. Two years later, a trade was worked out with the Bills which sent him to Chicago. 
Upon arrival in the Windy City, Bates was unable to secure a starting spot along the interior of the offensive line. His ability to do so this time around is essentially non-existent given the Bears’ offseason moves up front. In addition, Bates may not be a lock to survive roster cuts this summer.
A 53-man projection from Kevin Fishbain and Adam Jahns of The Athletic notes that Bates will be among the linemen competing for a depth role during training camp (subscription required). The 28-year-old suffered shoulder and elbow injuries during his Bears debut last fall, and the ensuing recovery process resulted in only three games played. Bates has one year remaining on his deal.
Cutting the Penn State product would create $3.5MM in cap savings while generating a dead money charge of only $500K. The Bears have nearly $15MM in cap space at the moment, but finances will no doubt play a role in the decision to keep or move on from Bates. He will spend camp competing for a depth spot alongside the likes of Doug Kramer, Ricky Stromberg, Chris Glaser and Jordan McFadden. Each member of that group is younger than Bates, who has 76 appearances to his name but only 21 starts in that time (most of them coming with the Bills from 2021-22).
After O-line play was an issue for 2024, the Bears made a concerted effort to upgrade the interior of the line in particular this spring. Trades for guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson were worked out in short order, and Chicago made a big-ticket free agent addition in the form of center Drew Dalman. As as result of the subsequent extensions signed by Thuney and Jackson, all three blockers are under contract for the next three seasons. Unseating any of them would be a tall order in Bates’ case, but even securing a backup role at guard and/or center could prove to be challenging.