The Chicago Bears are now riding a four-game winning streak. Ben Johnson's team continues to look much better on both sides of the field, and it seems like the running game has finally taken off after a slow start to the season.
Unfortunately, that's not the case with Cole Kmet. The more he plays, the clearer it becomes that he's not worth keeping around, and with the trade deadline zooming in, his trade value may have finally hit rock bottom against the New Orleans Saints.
Cole Kmet's Latest Dud Puts Bears in a Tough Spot
The Bears put up 386 total yards of offense in the 24-16 win over the New Orleans Saints. Running backs D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai did most of the heavy lifting, and the team finished with just 164 passing yards. However, just 16 of those yards came from Cole Kmet.
The veteran tight end was targeted just once, and it's been the second consecutive week that he's taken a step back to rookie Colston Loveland, who had three receptions on four targets for 24 yards. Loveland played a season-high 46 snaps in Sunday's win, out-snapping Kmet (28) for the first time all season.
To add insult to injury, literally, Kmet sustained a back injury in the second half of the win. He was immediately deemed doubtful to return, and that's never positive news for the upcoming week. If he can't suit up, other teams would have even fewer incentives to consider trading for him, as the November 4 trade deadline is just a couple of weeks away.
The Bears have yet to offer any further updates on Kmet's condition, but one can only assume that he will be questionable to travel to Baltimore for next week's date with the Ravens. The team might not miss him on the field, but their chances of flipping him to get more assets are getting slimmer by the day.
Kmet is up to just nine receptions on 19 targets this season. He's logged 132 yards and one touchdown, and while he averages a decent 14.7 yards per reception, he averages just 22.0 receiving yards per game.
The Bears spent a top-ten pick to get Loveland, and he was always expected to embrace a bigger role after the bye week. Now, Kmet's injury has pretty much sealed his fate, and the table is set for the rookie to finally give this team something at the tight end position.