Bears lose out on OL Ryan Bates as Bills match offer sheet

Bates (71) played all 17 games for the Bills last season, including four starts.PALM BEACH, Fla. — New Bears general manager Ryan Poles had high hopes for Bills offensive lineman Ryan Bates when he signed him to an offer sheet as an restricted free agent last week, but he’ll have to move on to contingency plans.

The Bills matched Poles’ four-year offer to keep Bates, 25, on Monday. They had until Tuesday night and hadn’t given the Bears any indication of their intentions.

“Yeah, it stinks,” Poles said. “But that’s a part of the RFA process. We’ll adjust and keep adding players. It’s out of your control. You put your best foot forward... and we came strong, and that’s given back to that team…