Gerald

Everett

The move is hardly a surprise. Everett was brought in as one of OC Shane Waldron’s guys. The two had worked together for five years before 2024. Everett held a part-time role early in the season but quickly fell out of the mix on offense. Waldron was fired well before the end of the season. Everett ended the year with eight catches for 36 yards. His release will save the Bears $5.5 million in cap space. Soon to be 31 years old, Everett will look for work as a backup tight end in 2025.

Everett, as our last blurb on him lays out succinctly, caught eight passes all season. The Bears can save $5.5 million against the cap by releasing Everett, and Cole Kmet is obviously Chicago’s No. 1 option at the position. Everett will likely be looking elsewhere for a stay-in-the-league role in 2025.

One of the worst free agent signings of the spring, Everett ends his first and likely only Bears campaign with eight catches for 36 yards. A totally foreseeable outcome to everyone but the Bears’ front office. Going on 31, Everett’s dynasty league star won’t be revived in a new home.

Sure, Everett turned that playing time advantage into ... one catch for -1 yards on one target ... but the point is, he was ahead of Kmet with the Bears in comeback mode after they fell behind 17-0 in the second quarter. Strange game script while Caleb Williams struggled mightily in his NFL debut, yes, but it’s clear Everett is indeed a major problem for Kmet’s TE2 prospects. For his part, Everett is not yet on the streamer radar.

Everett’s stay on the NFI list was about as short as we expected. The veteran tight end was placed on the list late last week but is now set to begin working out with the team. Everett posted a receiving line of 51-411-3 last season with the Chargers and will be sharing reps with incumbent Cole Kmet. He won’t have much fantasy upside as long as Kmet is healthy and active.

We don’t know the specifics of Everett’s injury, but we’d assume it’s minor until we hear otherwise. The veteran tight end signed a two-year deal with the Bears this offseason and will work in tandem with Cole Kmet in a revamped Bears offense. Everett, 30, caught 51 passes for 411 yards and three touchdowns while averaging a career-low 8.1 YPR with the Chargers last season. As long as Kmet is healthy, Everett can be left off fantasy rosters. Everett can be activated from the NFI list at any time.

Everett spent two seasons with the Chargers, totaling 109 receptions for 966 yards and seven touchdowns. The seven-year vet averaged a career-low 8.1 YPR last season but was the second-most targeted player in a Chargers offense that lost Mike Williams early in the season and saw Austin Ekeler struggle for much of the year. Everett’s arrival could put a dent in Cole Kmet’s fantasy value, but we’d still expect Kmet, who is fresh off a 73-719-6 season, to see the majority of the Bears’ tight end targets.

Everett sustained a knee injury on the Chargers’ first offensive series and did not return. He’ll end the season with 51 catches for 410 yards and three touchdowns as LA’s top tight end, though he often split snaps and pass routes with Donald Parham. An unrestricted free agent after this season, Everett — among the tight end league leaders in yards after the catch — would have a lot of fantasy value in the right landing spot.

Everett had one catch before exiting the game with a knee issue. Donald Parham will work as the team’s top tight end with Everett down.

Everett was one of only two remaining healthy starting skill position players for the Chargers in Week 17, but inefficient quarterback play and poor offensive play calling limited the veteran tight end to just four receptions against the Broncos. Everett and the Chargers limp into Week 18 with a 5-11 record with innumerable offseason changes likely on tap.