Ever since the Chicago Bears used the No. 10 pick on Michigan tight end Colston Loveland in the 2025 NFL Draft, the clock had seemingly been ticking on Cole Kmet‘s time in the city.
But when Kmet addressed reporters Monday at the start of the team’s offseason training program, he made his position clear… He never really planned on going anywhere.
“I kind of felt that throughout the offseason,” Kmet said. “I never really felt I would be playing anywhere else this year.”
That’s the kind of statement Bears fans needed to hear. And after sitting down with Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles at his exit meeting following the 11-6 campaign, the picture got even more clear.
“I got to my exit meeting with them about right after the game against L.A.,” Kmet said. “If you were to ask me right after that, I didn’t think I was going anywhere. Ryan and Ben, I really take at their word what they say. They’re very honest guys. They expressed interest in me staying here and being here.”
Kmet redefined his role, and it worked
GettyBears TEs Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland
Sure the raw numbers from 2025 weren’t pretty. Cole Kmet finished with just 30 receptions for 347 yards and two touchdowns.
Colston Loveland, meanwhile, led the team with 58 catches for 713 yards and six scores, becoming the first rookie to lead the Chicago Bears in receiving yards since Willie Gault in 1983. But Kmet’s value wasn’t gone, instead it evolved.
“The two tight ends are paramount,” Kmet said. “It might not always be in the passing game. There were a lot of things I had to do in pass [blocking] and the run game that proved to be very valuable for the team. I saw that, and more importantly, Ben and Ryan really recognized that as well.”
Ben Johnson had already gone on record about exactly that… After a November win over the Vikings where Kmet caught all five of his targets, Johnson said Kmet played “one of his best games” of the season and singled out his run blocking, pass protection, and physicality as the reasons why. In fact, the Bears ran 12 personnel at the second highest rate in the NFL last season.
Then there was the playoff run… In the Divisional Round against the Rams, Kmet hauled in a 14 yard touchdown that traveled 51.2 air yards through the air, capping a fourth quarter comeback and forcing overtime.
The contract situation isn’t going away
GettyBears TE Cole Kmet
However, while the mutual interest is real, the business side still needs sorting out. Cole Kmet carries an $11.6 million cap hit in each of the next two seasons and the Chicago Bears have essentially no cap space left after free agency.
A restructure or extension could lower that 2026 number and buy Poles breathing room ahead of the draft. The Bills pulled off something similar with Dawson Knox after drafting Dalton Kincaid, and Chicago could do the same here.
If Kmet is committed to staying, a deal around three years and $30 million could work for both sides. It would lower his annual number, give him more guaranteed money, and keep one of the team’s most reliable veterans in the building.
Kmet was direct about understanding the business reality, too. “I also understand that if an offer comes across their plate for them to make a move or them to make a change, they would definitely do that,” he said.
Cole Kmet isn’t going anywhere. Now the Chicago Bears just need to make the math work.
Cole Kmet Breaks the Silence on His Future With the Bears