Player News

• Commanders' John Bates: Goes catchless in second straight

  16D ago • By RotoWire

  Bates failed to draw a target while playing 21 of the Commanders' 59 snaps on offense in Sunday's 30-23 loss to the Ravens. Bates' 36 percent snap share was his second-lowest rate of the season while the Commanders leaned more heavily on No. 1 tight end Zach Ertz (80 percent share) and made less frequent use of two-tight-end formations. The 26-year-old still remains clearly ahead of rookie second-round pick Ben Sinnott on the depth chart, but Bates continues to function mostly as a blocker whenever he's on the field. Bates has been targeted just three times across his 173 snaps on offense in 2024.

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• Commanders' John Bates: Catches two passes from Daniels

  08/19/2024 • By RotoWire

  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

  01/23/2024 • By RotoWire

  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: Pass-catching role trending down

  12/07/2023 • By RotoWire

  Bates failed to corral his lone target while playing 25 of the Commanders' 55 snaps on offense in Sunday's 45-15 loss to the Dolphins. Bates has now been held without a reception over Washington's past two contests, after having previously produced a 7-48-0 receiving line on nine targets over the preceding five games. The third-year player continues to see snap shares over 40 percent most weeks, but he looks as though he'll function mainly as a blocker on the field while Logan Thomas operates as Washington's top pass-catching tight end.

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• Commanders' John Bates: Draws no targets Week 6

  10/17/2023 • By RotoWire

  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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