News Article
Published
Oct 23, 2026 at 03:37 PM EDT
The Chicago Bears appeared to lose Cole Kmet to a significant injury during Thursday night's win over the New England Patriots.
Kmet left the Week 7 game in the fourth quarter after taking a hard hit. The tight end, who had caught all three targets for 28 yards, was carted off the field after he couldn't put any weight on his right leg.
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Bears are bracing for bad news on Friday. The team believes Kmet suffered a "serious, likely season-ending knee injury."
Shortly after, Rapoport discussed Kmet's prognosis on The Pat McAfee Show. The insider said the 27-year-old was undergoing an MRI Friday afternoon and expected an unfortunate confirmation later in the day when head coach Ben Johnson speaks to reporters.
"There's not a lot of optimism here," Rapoport said. "... I know they have Colston Loveland who is excellent, excellent. They ran two tight ends a lot. This guy is really good and a great human. This sucks for the Chicago Bears."
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Kmet has played in 104 games since the Bears made him a second-round pick in 2020. He's taken a back seat to Colston Loveland this season, catching 10 of 14 targets for 87 yards.
Even in a reduced role, Kmet has played 62% of the offense's snaps this season. The 6-foot-6, 257-pounder scored his lone touchdown in a Week 1 win over the Carolina Panthers.
Caleb Williams will lose a valuable contributor in a high-powered offense that recorded 405 yards on Thursday night. The league's No. 2 rushing attack will also lose a key blocker in Kmet, who has only missed one game in his seven-year NFL career.