A costly win in Chicago
The Bears beat the New England Patriots 30-24 on Thursday night, and the bill arrived on Friday. NFL Network reported that tight end Cole Kmet is likely to miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.
The damage came in the fourth quarter. Kmet went down grabbing his right knee after being tackled low following an 8-yard catch, and he was carted off the field. He finished with three receptions for 28 yards. Head coach Ben Johnson said afterward the injury “did not look good,” and further testing was scheduled for Friday to confirm the diagnosis.
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What Chicago loses
Kmet, 27, has been a fixture in the Bears offense since they drafted him in the second round in 2020 out of Notre Dame. He arrived this season with 298 career catches for 3,026 yards and 22 touchdowns across 107 games, 94 of them starts.
His 2026 numbers are modest: 10 receptions for 87 yards and one touchdown in seven games, three of them starts. He had not been a full-time starter this year, but losing a 27-year-old with 94 career starts still thins the position.
A contract question looms
There is also a long-term angle. Kmet is playing the final season of the four-year, $50 million extension he signed in July 2023. A season-ending injury in a contract year complicates what comes next, for him and for a Bears front office that now has to decide how to fill the position.
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