Bears lose OL Ryan Bates to IR ahead of Texas game

The Chicago Bears are holding out one of their traded veterans — quarterback/center Ryan Bates — for the next month or so of the 2024 season.

According to a September 14 team statement, the Bears placed Bates on the injured reserve list as part of a series of roster changes ahead of their prime-time Sunday Night Football game against the Houston Texans.

Bates had been dealing with a shoulder injury since training camp, but the team let him play in the Week 1 win over the Tennessee Titans and swapped him to right guard with starter Nate Davis. Bates also suffered a new elbow injury in that win, which — combined with his initial shoulder issue — kept him off balance in practice.

After Bates practiced Wednesday as a limited participant, the Bears downgraded him to a “non-participant” for the final practices of Week 2 on Thursday and Friday. The team then ruled him off the final injury report for the game against the Texans.

Bates will now miss the Bears’ next four games and will not be eligible to return to the 53-man roster until Week 6’s matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.

The Bears also made two other roster changes on Saturday, signing snapper Scott Daly to fill Bates’ vacant spot on the 53-man roster and moving wide receiver Collin Johnson from the practice squad to the Sunday Night Football roster.

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Bears rely solely on Nate Davis as right guard

The Bears thought they had found a versatile candidate to play middle of the offensive line when they traded a 2024 fifth-round pick to the Buffalo Bills in March for Bates, a 27-year-old linebacker who can play both center and linebacker.

In the best-case scenario, Bates would enter the 2024 season as their new center to help protect top quarterback Caleb Williams. In the worst-case scenario, he would provide valuable depth inside as a rotational player behind Coleman Shelton at center and Davis at right guard, the latter of which he did more against the Titans in Week 1, but he also played twice as many snaps (38) as Davis (18) coming off the bench in their open competition at the position.

Unfortunately, Bates’ placement on the injured reserve list throws Chicago’s plans out the window. For at least the next four games — and maybe longer — the Bears will have to rely on Davis to play up to his $30 million contract and hold down the right guard spot. If he can’t, the Bears won’t have many options until Bates returns.

Bill Murray, a 2023 practice squad signee, is their top backup quarterback behind Davis and left tackle starter Teven Jenkins. While he played well enough in the preseason to earn a spot on the 53-man roster, it would be a huge risk for the Bears to promote him over Davis, considering he hasn’t played any regular snaps on offense.

Davis held up quite well as a pass blocker against the Titans, allowing just 1 pressure and 1 quarterback hurry on the pass rush. The Bears will now have to hope he can maintain his effectiveness throughout the game.

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Will the Bears offensive line survive without Ryan Bates?

Bates landing on the injured reserve list creates more problems for the Bears than just a forced decision at right guard. With the veteran guard/center unavailable, they are now largely locked into Shelton — who struggled in Week 1 — as their starting center.

While Shelton had some good moments as a run blocker in the season opener, the Titans dominated him as a pass blocker and forced him to surrender one sack, one rush and two pressures. In one instance, on third-and-goal with 35 seconds left in the first half, Titans linebacker Ernest Jones IV rushed Shelton and immediately put pressure on Williams, hitting him in the shoulder and forcing an incompletion.

As a result, the Bears had to settle for a field goal and close the half down 17-3.

As with Davis, Bates was the best option to replace Shelton at center if the Bears felt they needed to go in a different direction. Without him, the Bears’ only current option at center is 2022 sixth-round pick Doug Kramer Jr., who had a solid preseason but hasn’t played a single play in either of his first two NFL seasons.

Perhaps in the coming weeks, without Bates, the Bears will look for more help in free agency or on the transfer market, but one has to wonder — and worry — how their interior offensive line will fare in the meantime, especially against a stout Texans defense.

Jordan J Wilson is a sports reporter who covers the NFL and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers. He previously covered sports at all levels—high school, college and professional—for publications including The Indianapolis Star, The News-Gazette, Springfield State-Journal Register and the Peoria Journal Star. More about Jordan J. Wilson