Bates (ankle) has been ruled out ahead of Sunday's matchup against the Titans, Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN.com reports.
The 26-year-old logged consecutive DNPs to begin the Browns' week of practice and is now in line to miss his second game in a row due to an ankle injury. While Bates is sidelined again Sunday, Cleveland's tight-end room will likely consist of Blake Whiteheart, David Njoku and Harold Fannin.