Bears' Cole Kmet: Praised by Jimmy Graham

Teammate Jimmy Graham believes Kmet has a bright future in the NFL, Larry Mayer of the Bears official website reports. "[Kmet]'s just a special kid," Graham said. "For him, there's truly no ceiling. He can be as good as he wants to be."

The 34-year-old may be right about Kmet's future, but it'll be tough for the young tight end to make good on his potential if Graham is still on the roster. While some assumed Graham would be released or forced to take a pay cut this offseason, he's currently still under contract with the Bears for a non-guaranteed $7 million base salary. The team has dropped multiple hints about keeping Graham around, potentially relegating Kmet to a timeshare again. The 43rd overall pick from the 2020 NFL Draft played 56.3 percent of Chicago's offensive snaps last season, yet finished with only 28/243/2 on 44 targets. Kmet's upside scenario for 2021 probably requires Graham to be pushed out of the picture somehow.