The Chicago Bears are not in a rush this offseason, but a trade could be in the works regarding Cole Kmet before the 2026 season. Despite restructuring his contract to stay in Chicago, the Bears could trade Kmet anyway, given the circumstances with their tight end depth. The Bears selected Sam Roush in the third round of this year’s draft, and that could complicate things a little more during the upcoming season. It wouldn’t make sense to keep Kmet anymore on the roster if Roush winds up becoming the new backup for emerging starter Colston Loveland.
Last offseason, the Bears selected Loveland in the draft, which raised questions about Kmet’s future in Chicago. However, why select Roush the following year if they indeed wanted to keep Kmet? It wouldn’t be a shock if Cole Kmet even demands a trade during the season. Even though he’s coming off his worst season last year, Kmet is still a reliable starting tight end elsewhere.
Either way, Roush has a brighter future than Kmet. The Bears should trade Cole Kmet to see what they could get in return. It should probably happen sooner rather than later.
Cole Kmet
Main Photo: David Banks-Imagn Images
Bears Likely to Trade Top Weapon Cole Kmet After June 1 – 3 Possible Fits
Kmet will become a cap casualty in 2027 anyway. The worst thing the Bears can do this season is play him and have him get hurt. After trading DJ Moore and losing a few key defenders, the Bears could get at least a third-round pick at best. Kmet is still in the prime of his career and could be heading to join these three teams in a starting role.
Potential Landing Spots
Kansas City Chiefs
Veteran Travis Kelce is returning for at least one more season before finally retiring. Despite him being back, there’s no guarantee that the Chiefs’ passing game will be the same. Kelce isn’t in his MVP form anymore, and the same can be said about Patrick Mahomes, who is coming off a season-ending injury despite his recovery. Cole Kmet joining the Chiefs could easily make this team move on from Kelce.
They wouldn’t need to worry about what the future of the tight end position looks like if they can bring in Kmet. He’s no Rob Gronkowski size, but Kmet is more than capable of being the long-term starter over Noah Gray in Kansas City.
Minnesota Vikings
Aside from agreeing to a contract restructure, the Vikings could still move on from TJ Hockenson before the 2026 season. Minnesota has undergone several changes on offense, including signing Kyler Murray at QB and now bringing in Jauan Jennings to improve the pass game. However, they haven’t done much to address the tight end position this offseason. Cole Kmet is a much healthier pass-catcher than Hockenson, who both need a scenery change anyway.
Baltimore Ravens
After losing Charlie Kolar and Isaiah Likely, the Baltimore Ravens made some adjustments at the tight end position. The team added blocking tight end Durham Smythe while drafting Matthew Hibner. They could use a 1-2 punch again, especially when you have a talented Lamar Jackson.
Cole Kmet and Mark Andrews might be an elite duo that could drastically improve the pass game.