On Thursday night the Chicago Bears hosted the New England Patriots in a battle of playoff hopefuls.
Quarterback Caleb Williams led the Bears to a 30-24 victory with 326 total yards and two touchdowns, but lost one of his best targets in the process. Tight end Cole Kmet left Thursday’s game with what appeared to be a significant knee injury.
Before leaving the game, Kmet hauled in all three of his targets for 26 yards. Immediately after the game, though, head coach Ben Johnson said, “We’ll know more tomorrow, but I don’t think it looked very good.”
Ben Johnson Issues New Statement on Cole Kmet
Fast forward to Friday afternoon and Johnson revealed even more bad news about the tight end. He told reporters that Kmet will be placed on injured reserve and miss the rest of the season as a result of the knee injury – though he didn’t give an official diagnosis at the time.
“He’s everything we want to be about here. He’s going to be sorely missed. He’s Chicago. He’s been here his whole life. He’s a big part of our heartbeat. It stinks. It does. I hate it for him,” Johnson told reporters.
Bears TE Cole Kmet will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.
Ben Johnson: “He’s everything we want to be about here. He’s going to be sorely missed. He’s Chicago. He’s been here his whole life. He’s a big part of our heartbeat. It stinks. It does. I hate it for him.”— Sean Hammond (@sean_hammond) October 23, 2026
Kmet isn’t exactly a featured part of the team’s passing game – he has just 10 receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown. However, he’s a vital piece of the team’s overall offensive attack and led the league in pass blocking snaps heading into Week 7’s victory over the Patriots.
His absence on the field will likely mean an uptick in targets for star tight end Colston Loveland and other offensive weapons like Luther Burden and Rome Odunze.
Chicago gets an extended break before facing off against the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks on Nov. 2.
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