The Kansas City Chiefs must consider a future at the tight end position beyond Travis Kelce, and a trade for Chicago Bears TE2 Cole Kmet might satisfy two roster shortcomings for the price of one.
Kansas City’s offense is short of pass-catchers, as the team did not draft such a player until picking wide receiver Cyrus Allen out of Cincinnati late in Round 5. Now, with Rashee Rice in jail for probation violation and rehabilitating a surgically-repaired knee, the Chiefs need to hunt playmakers for QB Patrick Mahomes when he inevitably returns from an ACL injury.
Adding a player like Kmet not only means a replacement for Kelce when he retires, potentially as soon as next offseason, but it would also add another reliable set of hands to the position group and allow the Chiefs to run more 12 and 13 personnel groups — sets of two and three tight ends, respectively.
That strategy would fit with the team’s re-commitment to the run game this spring, led by the free-agent acquisition of running back Kenneth Walker III.
Ben Solak of ESPN authored a trade pitch in which the Bear send Kmet and a fifth-round pick to the Chiefs in return for a third-round pick.
“Kelce plays much more slot receiver than true tight end, while Noah Gray and Jared Wiley have not moved the needle behind him,” Solak wrote. “As the Chiefs commit to a better rushing attack, they need skill position players who can block. Kmet can reconnect with coordinator Eric Bieniemy and adds a much-needed dimension as a traditional Y tight end.”
Cole Kmet Has Flashed TE1 Potential During Bears Tenure
GettyChicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet.
Kmet is solidly embedded as the second tight end in Chicago behind Colston Loveland, the No. 10 overall pick in 2025. However, Kmet has shown the potential to be a No. 1 option before.
He tallied 73 receptions for 719 yards, both career highs, along with six TDs during the 2023 campaign. All told, Kmet has put up 288 catches for 2,939 yards and 21 scores across six years in the NFL (100 games played, 91 starts).
Kmet inked a four-year deal worth $50 million total in July of 2023 and is under contract with the Bears through 2027. He will play next season at 27 years old.
Bears Unlikely to Part With Cole Kmet for Cheap Price
GettyChicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet.
Solak argued that the Chiefs may have the greatest tight end need in the entire league, which makes it all the more surprising that the team didn’t jump into the fray when a run on the position began in the middle of the second round and stretched on into the late portion of Round 3.
Kansas City has no inexpensive rookie options at the position now, so a trade might be the best path forward this summer and/or ahead of the mid-season 2026 deadline. But if the Chiefs want Kmet, they’re going to have to pay.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson loves to run multiple-tight end sets, and did so at a top-three rate in the league last season (501 total plays). Chicago also ran 13 personnel (three tight ends) at a top-five rate in the league.
Unlike the Chiefs, the Bears prioritized the position by selecting Sam Roush 69th overall out of Stanford. Roush’s presence arguably renders Kmet more tradable, but it also equips Johnson’s offense for the kind of heavy-tight end versatility he favors.
Because of that, the Bears aren’t liable to part with Kmet for anything less than premium draft capital (such as the third-round pick Solak suggested), which could help them fill another position of need with a high-quality talent in 2027.
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