Ben Johnson
Getty
Head coach Ben Johnson of the Chicago Bears.
The Chicago Bears could use some salary cap space and the San Francisco 49ers could use a stopgap at tight end while George Kittle recovers from an Achilles tear he suffered during the most recent NFC playoffs.
Solution: Chicago trades tight end Cole Kmet to San Francisco for pick No. 133 late in the fourth round, which is the earliest of three compensation picks the NFL afforded the 49ers in next month’s draft.
Moving Kmet isn’t an ideal solution for the Bears, but it saves the team $10 million against the salary cap in each of the next two seasons if the Chicago makes the move with a post-June 1 designation. The team has also clearly considered life after Kmet, as it drafted Colston Loveland No. 10 overall last spring and elevated him to the No. 1 TE role as a rookie.
Chicago has roughly $1 million in cap space as of Monday, March 23, which ranks last in the league. Not only do the Bears need to open up enough cap room to sign all of the draft picks they make next month, but the team also needs to figure out a way to potentially squeeze a veteran edge-rusher into the mix for next season.
Former New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan has a market value of just $6.8 million coming off a double-digit sack campaign in his 15th pro season, but the Bears will have to trim salary elsewhere to render that move, or something similar, feasible.
Multiple Factors Argue for Bears Trading Cole Kmet Over Releasing, Extending Him
Cole Kmet Bears
GettyTight end Cole Kmet of the Chicago Bears.
Cutting Kmet two years into his four-year, $50 million extension saves the Bears the same amount of money as trading him, as long as they release the tight end with a post-June 1 designation. That means the same cap amount comes free, as does the same flexibility to make the moves necessary to round out the offseason. However, no pick then comes back in return.
Chicago could also extend Kmet and find some savings there, which makes sense considering head coach Ben Johnson’s affinity for 12 personnel (two-tight end sets).
But the Bears can probably find a rookie somewhere in the middle rounds of the draft or a reclamation project in free agency who can give the team a meaningful amount of what Kmet provides as a pass-catcher, pass-blocker and run-blocker at a significantly cheaper price.
Kmet is currently tied for the seventh-highest annual average salary in the league at the position, but his production and usage rate are nowhere near commensurate with that pay scale. Thus, even convincing him to take a pay cut as part of a restructure might not afford the Bears the kind of value they can get by cutting Kmet, or more preferably trading him and bringing a draft asset back in return.
Cole Kmet Makes Sense as One-Year Stopgap Tight End for 49ers as George Kittle Recovers
George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
GettySan Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle.
The 49ers have incentive to find a deal for the right tight end, namely because of how important the position is to their offense.
As much as any team in the league, San Francisco schemes for and around its tight end. The 49ers do so, in part, because Kittle holds the moniker of top-ranked player at the position, according to Pro Football Focus. Kmet, on the other hand, ranks 24th out of 37 tight ends who saw enough snaps to qualify in 2025.
However, Kmet produces some numbers relatively commensurate with Kittle that make him a sensible fill-in for the majority of one season in 2026.
Kittle had two drops on 66 targets last season, while Kmet had two drops on 45 looks. Kittle tallied 11 yards per reception and 4.5 yards after the catch on average, while Kmet’s numbers were 11.6 yards and 5.0 yards in those categories, respectively. Kmet’s average depth of target was 9.4 yards per route, while Kittle’s was 7.1 yards.
It is true that Kittle caught more passes for more receiving yards and more touchdowns than Kmet, but Kmet’s numbers in those areas would presumably increase if he moved into a No. 1 role as part of an offense that values the tight end spot as much, or maybe even more, than Johnson does in Chicago.