Should the Bears sign Cole Kmet to a contract extension this offseason?

Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet enjoyed a breakout season in 2022. The former second-round pick from Notre Dame set a career-high with seven touchdown catches and totaled 50 receptions for 544 yards. His catches, yards, and touchdowns led all Bears receivers.

Kmet will enter the final year of his contract next season and is now eligible for a new deal, should general manager Ryan Poles want to give him one. The Bears could wait until next year to lock up Kmet long-term, but they risk him enjoying an even better season and breaking the bank in unrestricted free agency. It’s highly unlikely Chicago would use the franchise tag on a tight end in 2024.

Cole Kmet has fans inside Halas Hall, including coach Matt Eberflus, who sang his tight end’s praises in November. If it was up to the coaching staff, there’s no doubt Kmet would be a Bear for a long time.

“Cole is a special guy,” Eberflus said. “He’s energy, he’s enthusiasm. He brings light into a room. He’s everything we stand for.”

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Ryan Poles said Cole Kmet was a standout player in 2022

The Bears are entering Year 2 of the Poles and Eberflus regime, and players like Kmet represent the culture they want to build inside the locker room. His on-field play was encouraging, too. Poles singled out Kmet during his end-of-year press conference as a player who stood out during the 2022 season.

“Yeah, I mean, the one that stands out to me this year, I was just proud of and that spent time with him, talking about it, but I thought Cole did a really good job,” Poles said. “I thought he elevated his game from the film that I watched last year to what it was this year, so that’s exciting. I mean, that’s one that comes to mind right now.”

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Cole Kmet is still developing as an NFL player

Kmet is still a young player by tight end standards. He’ll turn 24 in March. His ceiling isn’t yet defined, and the higher it goes, the more expensive he’ll be to re-sign.

Tight end is a sneaky expensive position on team payrolls, assuming you have a good one. The top-of-the-market players like Darren Waller (Raiders), George Kittle (49ers), Travis Kelce (Chiefs), Mark Andrews (Ravens), and Dallas Goedert (Eagles) are all being paid more than $14 million per season. Kittle is at $15 million, while Waller is the gold standard at $17 million per season.

I don’t think anyone expects Kmet’s next contract to pay him amongst the top tight ends in the NFL, but what about a deal similar to what the Buffalo Bills paid Dawson Knox? He was given a four-year, $52 million contract ($13 million per year). The New England Patriots signed Jonnu Smith to a four-year, $50 million contract ($12.5 million per season). There’s no doubt Kmet is in the same tier of NFL tight ends as those two.

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Chicago Bears have options if they choose not to extend Cole Kmet

It certainly feels like Cole Kmet needs to have another year of growth and development as a playmaker before the Chicago Bears commit the kind of money that it will take to lock him up on a multi-year contract extension. Would anyone be comfortable giving Kmet a four-year, $50 million deal? I certainly wouldn’t.

The Bears could target an unrestricted free agent like Dalton Schultz (Cowboys) this offseason instead. At 26 years old, Schultz’s best years are also ahead of him, and he’s proven through his first five years in the league that he’s a better receiving threat than Kmet. Chicago could field both Schultz and Cole Kmet in 2023 before moving on to a Schultz-led tight end room in 2024 and beyond.

Cole Kmet has a strong fan base outside of Halas Hall. Chicago Bears fans like him, he’s easy to cheer for. But that doesn’t mean he will be a Bear for life. He’s proven to be a good — not great — player through three seasons. With so many needs along the offensive and defensive lines, and at wide receiver too, paying Kmet a new deal seems like a low priority this offseason.

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