Cole Kmet had to leave the field on a cart during the Chicago Bears‘ “Thursday Night Football” game against the New England Patriots in Week 7. Kmet suffered a leg injury late in the fourth quarter as the Bears were trying to close out a win.
Quarterback Caleb Williams rolled out and threw the ball to Kmet who was met by two defenders after making an eight-yard gain. Kmet immediately grabbed his right knee and stayed on the ground. He had to leave the field on the injury cart, as Caleb Williams was back in Week 2.
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Cole Kmet knee injury #dabears https://t.co/FCSM5LUBUU
— Colin (@ufcolin) October 23, 2026
Cole Kmet holding his knee after the tackle https://t.co/2kNUmd0viE
— wok (@wokdior) October 23, 2026
Cole Kmet has to be carted off the field. #NFL https://t.co/74LjiIw7bs
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) October 23, 2026
The Bears ruled Kmet out with a “knee injury” a few minutes later according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo. It seems unlikely he’ll be back from this injury as quickly as Williams recovered from his hamstring injury, but Bears fans will keep their fingers crossed as we wait for an official update.
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Without Kmet, the Bears held on to win, 30-24, and improved to 5-2 on the season.
Kmet had three catches for 28 yards in the game. He entered the game with just seven catches for 59 yards and one touchdown on the season. Last year he had 30 catches for 347 yards and two touchdowns. He has played his entire career with the Bears since the team drafted him in the second round in 2020.
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