Getty The Chicago Bears are set to add veteran tight end Jesse James.
The Chicago Bears are adding another body to their tight ends room. The Bears are set to sign former Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Jesse James, per NFL insider Mike Garafolo.
James played his college ball at Penn State University from 2012-14, playing alongside Bears No. 1 wide receiver Allen Robinson for two of his three seasons with the Nittany Lions. He was selected in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL draft with the 160th overall pick by the Steelers, and he spent his first four years in the Steel City before catching on with the Lions in 2019. He played for Detroit for the last two years before being released this March.
With veteran tight end Demetrius Harris now gone, Chicago was bound to add a veteran to its roster to compete with everyone not named Cole Kmet or Jimmy Graham.
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What Do James’ Stats Look Like Over the Years?
James has played in 88 games over his six seasons, starting 54. He has 150 catches for 1,460 yards (16.6 yards per catch) and 11 touchdowns. He hasn’t fumbled once in that span. The 27-year-old tight end saw his numbers dip quite a bit in Detroit, as the Lions targeted him far less than Pittsburgh did.
In his two years in Detroit, James caught 30 passes for 271 yards (9.0 yards per reception) and 2 TDs. Considering he caught 30+ passes in three of his four seasons with the Steelers, it’s safe to say he didn’t fit in well during the Matt Patricia era in Detroit.
One very key thing to note about James: His injury history is relatively clean. With no major red flags or baggage in that department, he’s an intriguing pickup for the Bears. He has played in every game since his rookie season in 2015, and that kind of durability is rare in the NFL.
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Which TEs Will Make Bears’ Roster?
Kmet should see his targets go up in a big way in 2020, and he’ll be TE1, with Graham second behind him. After that, it gets a bit murky, particularly after the addition of James. J.P. Holtz has been on the roster each of the past two seasons, and he’ll likely be competing with James for the third spot. Tight end Jesper Horsted, who made Chicago’s active roster in 2019, took a bit of a step back in 2020, slipping to the practice squad.
The Bears added ex-Denver Broncos TE Jake Butt this offseason, as well, so he’ll be competing for a spot on the team, as well. There’s also Scooter Harrington, an undrafted free agent out of Stanford, who is a bit of a mystery.
It will be interesting to see who winds up in the No. 3 slot. Holtz has been utilized a good deal by head coach Matt Nagy in blocking schemes, so he may have an advantage. That said, James has more experience than every tight end combined apart from Graham, so the door is wide open for him. We’ll see if he meshes better in Chicago than he did in Detroit.
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