The Bears’ worst fears were confirmed Friday morning when tests showed tight end Cole Kmet will miss the remainder of the season with a right knee injury.
“We’re going to miss him a lot,” coach Ben Johnson said. “Really, he’s in Chicago. He’s been here his whole life and he’s a big part of our heartbeat. So it stinks. It does.”
“I hate it for him, I hate it for his teammates too.”
Kmet injured his knee late in the fourth quarter of Thursday night’s 30-24 win over the Patriots after catching a nine-yard pass along the Bears sideline. Shocked teammates gathered around him before he was carried to the locker room.
The 27-year-old tight end was drafted in 2020 in the same second round as teammate Jaylon Johnson. He signed next year, with a salary cap hit of $15.4 million against just a $5.4 million dead cap charge.
Kmet had 10 catches for 87 yards this season, but was part of the league’s best rushing attack as the Bears’ most reliable blocking tight end.
“I don’t have the words to describe what Cole is to me, what Cole is to this team, this organization,” quarterback Caleb Williams said Thursday night. “He’s the oldest Bear, I believe. And so, he’s been through this. And it’s a challenge. He’s tough. And I’ll be with him. I’ll be there with him every step of the way, no matter what the injury is. Cole has been there for me every step of the way. All through freshman year, sophomore year and now all through this year. So, I can only do the same thing for him.”
Ben Johnson is among the league leaders in using multiple tight ends on the same play and in the numbers to continue to do the same. Rookie third-round pick Sam Roush’s playing time will increase — “We’ve been very pleased with the improvement he’s made,” Johnson said — and the Bears are expected to promote Stephen Carlson or Qadir Ismail from the practice squad. Johnson also proposed a more unconventional option – using tackle Ozzy Trapilo as the third tight end in “Jumbo” packages.
“(Kmet) has always been one of the highest-rated players on our offense, week in and week out,” Johnson said. “We will miss him, there’s no doubt about that. But in terms of what we do, it won’t change much. …
“The train keeps rolling. Someone else needs to step up.”
Sweating back
The spot the Bears opened up by placing Kmet on injured reserve Friday was filled by defensive end Montez Sweat, who returned from a two-game drug suspension that was consistent with testing positive for diuretics or other performance-enhancing masking agents.
The Bears had seven sacks in Sweat’s absence after having 11 in five games with him.
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