NEWSLETTER
If there is one thing I’ll never do, it is question a football player’s toughness. And I am reminded that doing so would be highly questionable after Chicago Sun-Times reporter Jason Lieser shared this tweet about Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet breaking his forearm in the regular-season finale against the Green Bay Packers — and playing through the injury:
Thinking about playing with a broken forearm makes me cringe in pain:
Kmet played on 69 percent of the team’s offensive snaps in the Bears’ Week 18 loss to the Packers. He was targeted four times, caught three passes, and gained 41 yards in the game. It blows my mind to think about how productive he was in a game where he was injured. And let’s not forget that Kmet spent time on the injury report leading up to that game with a troublesome knee injury. TE1 really gutted it out in Week 17 when it would’ve been easy to just pack it in. Much respect.
Cole Kmet was a warrior for the 2023 Chicago Bears
There wasn’t a Bears player I was more impressed with in 2023 than Cole Kmet. And that is saying something when you consider how great cornerback Jaylon Johnson played last season. Even Montez Sweat’s own impressive run doesn’t top for me what Kmet did last year. Kmet set new career highs in catches (73) and receiving yards (719) while falling one touchdown short of matching his career-best in touchdowns (7). Pro Football Focus gave Kmet a 73.7 overall grade, which was the seventh-highest grade among tight ends who played at least 500 offensive snaps in 2023. And he did it all after signing a sizable contract extension over the summer.
Sometimes, a player signs a new deal and there is immediate buyer’s remorse. But with Kmet, he played his best ball after signing his extension. And now we know that he played in the finale with a broken forearm. How can I not be impressed with someone who played in a game that had no meaning to the Bears in the standings while nursing a busted arm? My respect factor for Kmet just went up a few notches.
Looking ahead, the most important thing here is that Kmet says he’ll be medically cleared soon and doesn’t expect the injury to be a problem this offseason. Whew. What a relief.
As it stands, the two tight ends behind Kmet on the depth chart (Robert Tonyan, Marcedes Lewis) are set to become free agents this offseason. The Bears could use some depth at the position. And with new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron possibly dialing up more two TE sets, perhaps finding Kmet some help this offseason should be a priority. But we can cross that bridge when we get to it.
