percentage<\/a>\u00a0of 12 personnel (1 running back, 2 tight ends) in the NFL and the fifth-highest percentage of 13 personnel.<\/p>\nAdvertisement<\/p>\n
Johnson\u2019s offense will continue to evolve schematically, but I can\u2019t see Ben deviating too far from his use of tight ends, which makes this an important position that needs quality depth.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how the Bears\u2019 tight end room currently shapes up.<\/p>\n
Colston Loveland \u2013 Signed through 2028* \u2013\u00a0Loveland was one of the most dynamic rookies in the NFL, and this was after a slow start to the season. He flashed elite traits and appears primed to push for the Pro Bowl next season. His athleticism makes him a perfect \u201cmove\u201d tight end, but he didn\u2019t seem to mind lining up as the Y and blocking either. It\u2019s easy to see why the Bears valued his skill set at 10 overall in the draft, and why his ceiling is even higher than that of a perennial Pro Bowler.<\/p>\n
*Bears have the fifth-year option for 2029.<\/p>\n
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Cole Kmet \u2013 Signed through 2027 \u2013 The Bears could save about $8 million if they move on from Kmet, but I think it\u2019s more likely they rework his deal and sign him to an extension. Kmet has become a reliable in-line blocker, but he\u2019s athletic enough to line up wide or in the backfield. He\u2019ll likely never approach the 73 receptions he had in 2023, but he plays an important role in Johnson\u2019s offense.<\/p>\n
Loveland and Kmet make up one of the best tight end duos in the NFL.<\/p>\n
Durham Smythe \u2013 Free agent \u2013 The 30-year-old veteran played in a quarter of the Bears\u2019 offensive snaps (293) and the sixth-most snaps on special teams (230). I can see the Bears bringing him back on another one-year deal.<\/p>\n
The next three players spent time on Chicago\u2019s practice squad in 2025 and signed reserve\/futures contracts. <\/p>\n
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Stephen Carlson \u2013 Signed through 2026 \u2013\u00a0Carlson has been with the Bears since 2023, but he\u2019s only appeared in three games. He\u2019s a solid veteran option to call up from the practice squad, but at 29 years old, he\u2019s probably never going to crack a 53-man roster.<\/p>\n
Nikola Kalinic \u2013 Signed through 2026 \u2013\u00a0The 29-year-old began his career in the CFL in 2019, and the Bears are his fourth NFL team since 2022. He played in two games for the Bears in 2025, making 3 special teams tackles.<\/p>\n
Qadir Ismail \u2013 Signed through 2026 \u2013\u00a0The Bears are his fifth NFL team since being a Ravens UDFA in 2024. At 6\u20196\u201d, 232 pounds, he\u2019s a good athlete who started his collegiate career as a quarterback for\u00a0Villanova\u00a0and finished it as a wide receiver for Samford. His dad, Qadry, was a ten-year veteran in the NFL.<\/p>\n
2026 OUTLOOK \u2013\u00a0Assuming Kmet stays, the Bears won\u2019t be addressing this position with big money in free agency or a high draft pick. However, some bottom of the depth chart competition should come from a UDFA or two.<\/p>\n
What do you think will happen at tight end this offseason?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson changed his offensive scheme from what he used in Detroit to better…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":750607,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2070],"tags":[374,1035,692,391,2493,3744,590,146,7729,7,259,6,22853,31537,169,24453,3394,12673],"class_list":{"0":"post-750606","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-bears","8":"tag-bears","9":"tag-ben-johnson","10":"tag-chicago","11":"tag-chicago-bears","12":"tag-chicagobears","13":"tag-cole-kmet","14":"tag-colston-loveland","15":"tag-detroit","16":"tag-durham-smythe","17":"tag-football","18":"tag-minnesota-vikings","19":"tag-nfl","20":"tag-nikola-kalinic","21":"tag-qadir-ismail","22":"tag-ravens","23":"tag-stephen-carlson","24":"tag-the-bears","25":"tag-tight-ends"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116066688037602569","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/750606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=750606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/750606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/750607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=750606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=750606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=750606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}