This is by no means slighting Arnaud but from what I have been told and seen in the past, no. Austen is a QB and a very good one. Bates however is so athletic he can play a handful of positions. You can line him up in the backfield and let him run the ball...put him at WR. Let him return punts. He could play DB. He's a utility guy who is way too athletic and special to keep on the sidelines in my opinion.
The rub is, can we keep him if he doesn't win or at least share the QB job? That's a big question mark.