John Bates (born November 6, 1997) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

for the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Boise State Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...

and was drafted by Washington in the fourth round of the

2021 NFL Draft The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 2021 ...

Career

Bates played

and was drafted by the

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

in the fourth round (124th overall) of the

. He signed his four-year rookie contract on May 13, 2021. Due to injuries to

Logan Thomas Logan Lamont Thomas Sr. (born July 1, 1991) is an American football tight end for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He was the starting quarterback at Virginia Tech in the early 2010s, where he finished as the sch ...

and

Ricky Seals-Jones Roderick "Ricky" Seals-Jones (born March 15, 1995) is an American football tight end who is a free agent. He played college football at Texas A&M as a wide receiver and signed with the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2017. He ha ...

, Bates had his first career start in the Week 11 win over the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

. In a December 26 game against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

, Bates scored his first NFL touchdown on a pass from

Kyle Allen Kyle Allen (born March 8, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). A native of Scottsdale, Arizona, he played high school football at Desert Mountain and was among the top football ...

, which he fumbled but later recovered in the endzone. In Week 12 of the 2022 season, Bates scored his second career touchdown against the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

on a 16-yard pass from

Taylor Heinicke Taylor Heinicke ( ; born March 15, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Old Dominion and signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted f ...

References

External links

*
Washington Commanders bioBoise State Broncos bio
1997 births Living people American football tight ends Boise State Broncos football players People from Lebanon, Oregon Players of American football from Oregon Washington Commanders players Washington Football Team players {{tightend-stub