Commanders' John Bates: Signs new deal with Washington
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Bates and the Commanders agreed on a three-year contract Sunday, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports.
Bates will remain in Washington ahead of the 2025 campaign. The tight end caught eight of 13 targets for 84 yards in 2024, his lowest totals in both categories over his four seasons in the NFL. Bates will compete with Ben Sinnott for the No. 2 spot at tight end behind Zach Ertz on the depth chart in 2025.
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Commanders' John Bates: Adds three catches in playoffs
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Bates caught eight of 13 passes for 84 yards during the 2024 regular season, then added three catches for 31 yards on four targets in the playoffs.
Bates has been Washington's No. 2 tight end ever since the team took him in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He's always been more of a blocker than pass catcher, and it's possible he finds a new home now that he's completed his rookie contract. TE Zach Ertz is also scheduled for free agency, but Bates is unlikely to have a major receiving role even if he re-signs with the Commanders while Ertz moves on.
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Commanders' John Bates: Ready for Sunday
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Bates (shoulder) was a limited participant in practice Friday and does not carry an injury designation for Sunday's NFC Championship Game against the Eagles.
Bates has dealt with a shoulder injury throughout the postseason, but his availability hasn't yet been impacted. He secured one of two targets for 20 yards during the team's divisional-round win over Detroit while working behind Zach Ertz at the tight end position.
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Commanders' John Bates: Nursing shoulder injury
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Bates (shoulder) was a limited participant in Thursday's practice.
Bates entered the postseason nursing a shoulder injury, but it didn't prevent him from playing in the Commanders' first two playoff games. He played 85 snaps (70 on offense, 15 on special teams) over those two contests and caught one pass (on three targets) for 20 yards while serving as Washington's backup tight end behind Zach Ertz. Bates' limited participation Thursday is likely to prevent an aggravation of his shoulder injury, and he should be able to play in Sunday's NFC Championship Game against the Eagles unless he suffers a setback.
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Commanders' John Bates: Cleared for wild-card round
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Bates (shoulder) was limited in practice Friday but does not carry an injury designation for Sunday's road NFC wild-card round matchup against the Buccaneers.
Bates began the week as a full participant in practice, and despite then downgrading to back-to-back limited sessions, he's been cleared to suit up Sunday on the road at Tampa Bay. The depth tight end suited up for all 17 regular-season games with Washington, securing eight of 13 targets for 84 yards.
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Commanders' John Bates: Working through shoulder issue
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Bates (shoulder) was a limited participant in Thursday's practice.
Bates' limited participation in pracitce could be out of precaution after he logged a full practice Wednesday. Friday's practice report and subsequent injury designation will provide more clarity on Bates' status heading into Sunday's NFC wild-card round game against the Buccaneers. Bates has primarily been used as an extra blocker for the Commanders but managed to log eight catches (on 13 targets) for 84 yards across 17 regular-season games while operating as Zach Ertz's backup.
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Commanders' John Bates: Makes short catch in Week 15
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Bates played 42 of the Commanders' 78 snaps on offense and hauled in his lone target for a six-yard reception in Sunday's 20-19 win over the Saints.
Bates and fellow reserve tight end Ben Sinnott (42 snaps, 1-7-0 receiving line on one target) turned in nearly identical lines in Week 15 in terms of both playing time and production, with both seeing their roles expand after starter Zach Ertz (concussion) left the game early. If Ertz can't clear concussion protocol ahead of Sunday's game against the Eagles, another near-even timeshare at tight end between Bates and Sinnott could be in the offing. Sinnott profiles as the more fantasy-friendly option of the two, as the rookie second-round pick recorded 49 catches for 676 yards and six touchdowns during his final collegiate season at Kansas State.
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Commanders' John Bates: Two catches vs. Philadelphia
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Bates caught two passes on three targets for 17 yards during Thursday's 26-18 loss to the Commanders.
Bates had gone catchless the last two games, but he finished Thursday's game third in both receptions and receiving yards behind Austin Ekeler (eight catches for 89 yards) and Zach Ertz (six receptions for 47 yards). Bates played on just 30 percent of the Commanders' offensive snaps, and he's been hovering around that rate as he operates as the Commanders' No. 2 tight end behind Ertz and ahead of Ben Sinnott. Through 11 regular-season games, Bates has played 295 snaps on offense and accumulated five catches (on eight targets) for 51 yards.
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Commanders' John Bates: Catches two passes from Daniels
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Bates caught both of his targets for 20 yards in Saturday's 13-6 preseason loss to Miami.
Both receptions came from QB Jayden Daniels, with Bates making the start and playing nearly all the first-team snaps for a second straight week. The fourth-year pro is unlikely to have an every-down role once the regular season begins, but it does seem Bates will start the year ahead of rookie second-round pick Ben Sinnott, serving as the blocking/inline tight end in a timeshare with Zach Ertz. It may not be long before Sinnott pushes for more snaps, however.
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Commanders' John Bates: Catches 19 passes in 2023
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Bates caught 19 of 28 passes for 151 yards in 17 games during the 2023 season.
The 2021 fourth-round pick has finished each of his three pro seasons with between 22 and 28 targets and 14 and 20 receptions, and around 500 snaps. Bates hasn't shown the pass-catching chops to make a fantasy impact, and he now faces some uncertainty entering the final year of his rookie contract as the Commanders bring in a new coaching staff.
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Commanders' John Bates: Draws no targets Week 6
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Bates went without a target across 20 snaps on offense Sunday in the Commanders' 24-16 win over the Falcons.
Quarterback Sam Howell didn't look to involve his tight ends in Week 6, as the trio of Logan Thomas, Bates and Cole Turner combined for just one target across 69 offensive snaps. Thomas continues to dominate the playing time among the position group, and so long as he's healthy, Bates will be in store for a minor role. In the four games that Thomas has played without exiting early due to injury, Bates has drawn just three total targets.
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Commanders' John Bates: Targeted twice
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Bates caught both of his targets for 12 yards in Sunday's 37-3 loss to Buffalo.
Bates took 57 percent of snaps on offense, the same as Cole Turner, who finished with a 3-35-0 receiving line on a team-high seven targets. There's not much fantasy appeal with Bates for Week 4 at Philadelphia, as he'll be the blocking-focused TE in a timeshare even if Logan Thomas (concussion) misses another game.
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Commanders' John Bates: Held catchless
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Bates finished with one target and no receptions in Monday's preseason win over Baltimore.
With Logan Thomas (calf) sidelined, Cole Turner worked as the primary tight end on the first-team offense, while Bates played a few snaps and mostly blocked. There's not much hope for significant receiving production, but Bates at least figures to have a blocking role for the third straight year since Washington made him a fourth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
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Commanders' John Bates: Quiet second season
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Bates finished the 2022 season with 14 catches for 108 yards and a touchdown on 22 targets in 16 games.
The 2021 fourth-round pick mostly served as a blocker, playing no fewer than 20 offensive snaps and no more than 45 in his 16 appearances. Bates had 249 receiving yards as a rookie and could perhaps have a larger role in 2023, but he'll likely always be used as a blocker first and foremost, given his 6-6, 259-pound frame and lack of speed.
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Commanders' John Bates: Scores second NFL touchdown
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Bates caught three of four targets for 24 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 19-13 win over Atlanta.
Bates handled his usual role as Washington's in-line tight end, though it came with more snaps (58 percent) than usual in a run-heavy contest. Logan Thomas still ran most of the routes and got most of the snaps on passing downs, so Bates isn't a great bet to repeat the production Week 13 against the Giants.
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Commanders' John Bates: Serves primarily as blocker Week 10
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Bates failed to draw a target during Monday's 32-21 win over the Eagles.
Bates was on the field for 41 of Washington's 83 snaps on offense in the upset victory, with his 49 percent share representing his highest mark since Week 5. It's worth noting that Bates ran just eight routes on the night, as the Commanders implemented a run-heavy game plan that often featured Bates sharing the field with top tight end Logan Thomas. On the occasions the Commanders are looking to pass, Thomas is still expected to rank ahead of Bates as the team's preferred option at tight end.
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Commanders' John Bates: Targeted once
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Bates played 33 percent of offensive snaps and caught his lone target for a six-yard gain in a 17-16 win over Indianapolis on Sunday.
Bates finished third among the Washington tight ends in snap share with Logan Thomas returning from a three-game absence. All three were bunched fairly close together, with Thomas at 56 percent and Armani Rogers at 36 percent. Bates is probably the least intersting from a fantasy standpoint, as he ran the fewest routes and spent most of his afternoon blocking. He's unlikely to see more than a target or two Week 9 against the Vikings.
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Commanders' John Bates: Not targeted in win
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Bates wasn't targeted Sunday against the Packers, playing 23 snaps on offense (31 percent) in a 23-21 win.
Armani Rogers led the TEs with a 51 percent snap share and three catches, while Cole Turner was targeted twice (both incomplete) before leaving with a concussion. Bates was listed as questionable after missing the previous game with a hamstring injury, and it's possible that contributed to his diminished role relative to previous games that Logan Thomas (calf) has missed. It's possible all three of Thomas, Bates and Turner show up on the Week 8 injury report ahead of a road game against the Colts.
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Commanders' John Bates: Back against Packers
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Bates (hamstring) is active Week 7 against Green Bay.
The Commanders were without both Bates and Logan Thomas (calf) last week against Chicago, and while Thomas remains inactive, Bates will be back in action. The last time Thomas was out and Bates was active -- Week 5 against Tennessee -- Bates led the position group with a 58.6 percent snap share, though he was targeted only three times in that contest.
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Commanders' John Bates: Possible game-time call
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Bates (hamstring) is listed as questionable for Sunday's game against Green Bay, John Keim of ESPN.com reports.
Coach Ron Rivera told reporters Bates had a good day of practice Friday and has a chance to play heading into the weekend. With Logan Thomas (calf) out for a third straight game and Bates in danger of a second consecutive absence, rookie Cole Turner could have another shot at extended playing time, though Rivera also mentioned using FB Alex Armah more. Last week, Bates injured his hamstring in pregame warmups, which was too late for the Commanders to alter their plans for which players would be active/inactive. The tight end now looks like a game-time decision ahead of a 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff Sunday.
