The Baltimore Ravens had as much talent as anyone in the NFL at tight end in 2025 with Mark Andrews, Isaiah Likely, and Charlie Kolar.
That’s 3 players who could be starters on most NFL teams.
With Likely and Kolar both gone to lucrative free-agent deals this offseason, that leaves just the soon-to-be 31-year-old Andrews remaining.
He might need some help. That’s why ESPN’s Dan Graziano proposed a trade that would send the Chicago Bears a 2027 3rd round pick in exchange for 6-foot-6, 257-pound veteran tight end Cole Kmet.
“A 2027 third-rounder seems a tad rich straight up, and the Bears are short on 2027 middle-rounds picks after the Garrett Bradbury trade,” Graziano wrote. “So here they still get a valuable Day 2 pick, just delayed a year, while the Ravens get some badly needed help at a position that was hollowed out by the departures of Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar.”
The Bears would be smart to move Kmet if a 3rd-round pick was really on the table — they used their 2025 1st-round pick on a tight end with Colston Loveland, who looks like he’s on the verge of becoming a star in 2026.
Kmet has 2 years remaining on a 4-year, $50 million contract and is scheduled to make $10 million in both 2026 and 2027 before that deal runs out.
Ravens Previously Predicted to Trade for Cole Kmet
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox proposed a trade before the 2026 NFL draft that would bring Kmet to the Ravens.
In Knox’s pitch, the Ravens give up a conditional 2027 4th-round pick for Kmet that could turn into a 3rd-round pick depending on how Kmet performs — a much better option than just forking over the 3rd-rounder.
“Kmet has been productive throughout his Bears tenure, but he may not be viewed as expendable due to the emergence of rookie Colston Loveland in 2025,” Knox wrote. “Trading Kmet would save Chicago $7.4 million in cap space of $9 million if traded after June 1. For Baltimore, adding Kmet would make a ton of sense. The Ravens lost tight ends Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar in free agency. Kmet is a solid pass-catcher who has tallied 2,939 receiving yards in six seasons and who just turned 27 years old in March. Kmet also has experience under new Ravens offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, who held the same position last season in Chicago.”
Playing alongside Loveland, Kmet had just 30 receptions for 347 yards and 2 touchdowns in 2025 — his lowest production since his rookie season in 2020.
Ravens Lost 2 High-Profile Tight Ends in Free Agency
The Ravens made a surprise move by signing Andrews to a 3-year, $39 million contract extension last season — money once thought earmarked for Likely — and almost completely closed the door on Likely coming back when they did.
While the Ravens lost Likely to a 3-year, $40 million contract with the Giants, he also wasn’t the only promising tight end who went out the door in free agency.
The Ravens also lost the 6-foot-6, 250-pound Kolar to a 3-year, $24.3 million free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Chargers, which included $17 million in guaranteed money.
ESPN called Kolar the NFL’s top “sleeper free agent” option at tight end before free agency started.
From ESPN: “The Y tight end market is en vogue. Kolar is a top option in that equation this year. He can block and catch.”
Ravens Urged to Trade Draft Pick for 6-foot-6, 257-Pound NFC Tight End