Getty Chicago Bears tight end Jimmy Graham.
Jimmy Graham led the Chicago Bears in touchdown receptions last year (8), while also catching the lone score in the Bears’ Wild Card loss to the New Orleans Saints, yet many expected the veteran tight end to be a salary cap casualty this offseason. Instead, Graham remains on the roster, with the team parting ways with two veteran offensive linemen (Bobby Massie and Charles Leno Jr.) and All-Pro cornerback Kyle Fuller instead.
Graham is slated to make $7 million in 2021, and with the Bears not taking a tight end in the draft, the 34-year-old could be sticking around in the Windy City for the final year of his deal. One prominent Bears insider thinks that’s the plan, anyway.
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Bears Insider: Team Thinks Graham Can Be More Effective With Better QB Play
According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, the Bears think the veteran tight end could find the end zone even more with capable play at the quarterback position. With Andy Dalton and Justin Fields definite upgrades over Mitch Trubisky and Nick Foles (who is currently listed as QB3 on the team’s depth chart), head coach Matt Nagy must have a strong belief in Graham and what he brings to the offense.
When asked in his weekly Q&A column about why the Bears elected to release Leno instead of Graham, Biggs said the following:
If the Bears had released Graham early in the offseason, before the new league year began, it would not have surprised me. When they kept him at that point, it was a clear signal they plan to have him on the roster this season. The Bears have been short on playmakers, and Graham led them with eight touchdown receptions last season and added another in the playoff loss in New Orleans. The thinking is Graham can be more effective with better play at quarterback, specifically better pocket passing. The Bears need to consider adding more playmakers, so Graham looks locked in for 2021.
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Graham’s Relationship With Cole Kmet Could Also Be a Factor
After a slow start to his rookie campaign last year, tight end Cole Kmet, who the Bears chose in the second round of the 2020 draft, began to emerge in the second half of the season. Kmet didn’t catch more than two passes in any game in his first eight games last season, but he was targeted a lot more in the second half of the season, grabbing 20 passes for 149 yards and a score in his last five contests.
Kmet will now get the nod over Graham and become the team’s starter, per the depth chart, but the vet’s role as Kmet’s mentor last year should continue. Kmet and Graham seem to have bonded on the field and off, as Graham, who is a trained pilot, took his mentee out for a flying lesson this offseason, and it will be intriguing to watch how they pair with Dalton — and possibly Fields — as well.
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