We've been holding our breath ever since Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet exited the Week 7 game against the New England Patriots early with a knee injury.
It did not look good right off the bat, as Kmet had to be carted off the field in the fourth quarter after going down. Then, after the game, head coach Ben Johnson admitted it didn't look good.
Now, on Friday, we have the update we were fearing.
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Kmet is believed to have suffered a season-ending knee injury. Rapoport said the Bears tight end still has more tests to do to fully confirm, but clearly the outlook is not good.
"Bears TE Cole Kmet, who was carted off in last night's win over the Patriots, is believed to have suffered a serious, likely season-ending knee injury, sources say," Rapoport wrote.
"Kmet is undergoing testing this morning, and until those results come back, there is no finality," Rapoport added.
If he is indeed done for the season, this could be the last we see of Kmet in a Bears uniform.
He does have one more year left on his contract in 2027, but he also has a hefty $15.4 million cap number and the Bears have a clear out in his contract. He'll almost certainly need to redo the deal to stay.
What Kmet's injury means for Bears
Losing Kmet is a huge blow for the Bears, and in more ways than one.
Even as the No. 2 tight end behind Colston Loveland, Kmet still sees a big role on offense, as evidenced by his 62% snap share. That's because the Bears run 12 and 13 personnel at the third- and fourth-highest rates in the NFL, per Sumer Sports.
We already know he's a plus pass-catcher, but Kmet is also one of the team's best blockers among skill-position players and the importance of his blocking extends to special teams, and specifically on the field goal unit.
Kmet's injury will push rookie tight end and third-round pick Sam Roush into a bigger role, which is concerning because Roush has seen plenty of struggles during his first season in the NFL.
As a pass-catcher, Roush has dropped two passes, which is 40% of his targets, and he has had issues with blocking at times. To make matters worse, Roush has committed three penalties, according to NFLPenalties.com.
Another tight end is needed
The Bears don't have a fourth tight end on their active roster, so they'll need to add another. Chicago has two options on the practice squad in Stephen Carlson and Qadir Ismail.
The most likely approach will be the Bears promoting Carlson over Ismail given the former's advantage in experience, which will be needed in Chicago's young tight ends room.
Carlson has 28 games of experience under his belt while Ismail has never taken a regular-season snap in the NFL. Carlson isn't going to offer anything as a pass-catcher, but he is a sufficient blocker.
Given the Bears' heavy reliance on tight ends, it would not shock us to see the team bring in more help via free-agent signing or a minor trade, but chances are they'll likely asses things over the next few weeks ahead of the Nov. 10 trade deadline before potentially making a move.
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