Cole Kmet carted off in fourth quarter of TNF

Head coach Ben Johnson said after the game that Kmet’s injury didn’t look “very good,” breaking from his normal tendency to avoid talking about injuries. Kmet’s knee buckled from under him in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s game, and he had to be carted from the field after the play. This looked like a potential season-ender when it happened, but tests will confirm the severity of it in the near future. Kmet’s absence could open up more opportunities for Colston Loveland, who has caught 26 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns this season.

Colston Loveland, meanwhile, led the Bears with nine targets in Tyson Bagent’s first start. Kmet has had solid route participation numbers thanks to the Bears’ heavy use of two tight end sets. Even so, he should be left on waiver wires unless or until Loveland misses time. Kmet now has four receptions on the season.

Colston Loveland, meanwhile, caught exactly zero passes as the Bears put up 59 points against a nonexistent Carolina defense. Kmet ran a route on 19 of Caleb Williams’ 39 drop backs against the Panthers and came down with one of Williams’ two touchdown tosses on the day. Kmet will have some fantasy value going forward as long as he has some route running involvement in the potent Chicago offense. He can be added in deeper leagues ahead of Week 2.

The Bears broke scoring records in their Week 1 demolition of the Panthers but Loveland — leading the team in pass routes — was largely invisible. Caleb Williams missed a wide open Loveland in the middle of the field in the second half and nearly connected with his second-year tight end in the end zone. Cole Kmet, meanwhile, ran about half of the Bears’ routes and turned three targets into two catches for 35 yards and a score. Loveland is almost certain to bounce back in Week 2 against the Vikings.

Kmet found himself on the receiving end of a miraculous fourth-down throw by Caleb Williams to keep the Bears’ season alive with 18 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Kmet’s score would force the game into overtime, but the Bears came up short in the extra frame after the Rams made the most of a Caleb Williams interception on the Bears’ only drive. Kmet’s numbers have now fallen off in back-to-back years. After going for 73-719-6 in 2023, the sixth-year vet saw his fewest targets (45), receptions (30), and receiving yards (347) since his rookie year this season, and found the end zone just twice. As far as his work as a pass-catcher is concerned, Kmet took a backseat to rookie Colston Loveland this season, and now looks expendable heading into this offseason despite signing a four-year contract extension in 2023. Per OverTheCap, the Bears can release Kmet for a dead cap hit of just $3.2 million if the team makes him a pre-June 1 cut. A post-June 1 cut would carry a $1.6 million dead cap hit. Kmet will turn 27 next season and could have plenty to offer another team as a starter should he become available.

He upgraded to a full practice on Thursday and would appear to be on the optimistic side of questionable after practicing all week. Kmet told reporters that he will play. Normally his presence is a sign to dial back expectations for Colston Loveland in fantasy, but it’s possible the Bears could use a ton of two tight-end looks in Week 16 with both Luther Burden and Rome Odunze ruled out. Loveland will be a playable low-end TE1, while Kmet is on the TE2 line at this point.

Kmet was limited yesterday as well. We fully expected him to suit up for Saturday’s game versus the Packers. With Rome Odunze and Luther Burden likely to miss Week 16, expect a heavy dose of 12-personnel from Chicago’s offense. That will keep Kmet on the edge of the TE2 ranks this week.

Kmet continues to be a thorn in Coleston Loveland’s side rather than a standalone fantasy option. The 26-year-old tight end hasn’t played ahead of his counterpart in about a month, but the three or so targets he gets every game is noteworthy. It’s just not enough for him to be on the fantasy radar in Week 16 against the Packers.

Loveland continues to split time with Cole Kmet, which couldn’t be more frustrating for fantasy managers given the difference in production lately. Coming off a game with four catches, 29 yards and a touchdown against the Packers, Loveland had another four catches for 63 yards. Kmet caught just 2-of-4 targets. Loveland is stuck in TE2 purgatory until Kmet is fully phased out.

Kmet got loose on a Caleb Williams scramble drill in the third quarter. Williams bought time and threw a back-shoulder pass to Kmet, who reeled in the throw with a fantastic grab for a gain of 26 yards. He nearly flipped the matchup on Chicago’s final offensive play of the night. Williams scrambled to his left and had Kmet open in the end zone on fourth down. He threw a duck well short of Kmet that was snagged by Green Bay for a game-losing pick. Kmet is splitting reps with Colston Loveland and the rookie has shown far more juice this year. Kmet will remain off the fantasy radar for Week 15 versus the Browns.