Bates will operate as Washington's No. 2 tight end behind Ricky Seals-Jones while Logan Thomas (hamstring) is on injured reserve, Pete Hailey of NBC Sports Washington reports.
Bates played only four offensive snaps across the first three games of the season, but he logged 14 plays from scrimmage during Sunday's win over the Falcons with Thomas going down with the injury. Bates, a rookie fourth-round pick, has yet to be targeted in the passing game and is unlikely to have much fantasy relevance.