To say that the beginning of Colston Loveland's NFL career has been disappointing would be a massive understatement. As the No. 10 pick, Chicago Bears fans expected not only to see more production, but for the rookie to be an integral part of the offense.
That wasn't necessarily the case early on in the season. Now that the Bears have had their bye week, though, that might finally change. For starters, he seems to be back to full strength, and that's obviously a big step in the right direction:
"No injury report until tomorrow, but the following Bears were not spotted at the portion of practice open to the media: S Jaquan Brisker, DT Grady Jarrett, RT Darnell Wright was working on a separate field. PK Cairo Santos and TE Colston Loveland were out there," Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic wrote on X.
Colston Loveland's Return Spells Trouble For Cole Kmet
Loveland was out there to do light cardio and some blocking in Weeks 1 and 2, logging just two catches on three targets for 12 yards. It looked like, after Ben Johnson vowed to get both tight ends more involved, he was finally in for a big game, as he had a 31-yard explosion in Week 3 vs. the Dallas Cowboys. Unfortunately, a hip injury forced him to the sidelines for the remainder of that contest and the next one.
Still, veteran Cole Kmet failed to make the most of his opportunities. Without the rookie in the lineup, Kmet struggled to get much going as a blocker, had a big drop, was flagged twice, and he grabbed just three of nine targets for a season-high 46 yards. He's either not at his best or has no chemistry with Caleb Williams, but whatever the case may be, he held the offense back multiple times.
The Bears used a top-10 selection on Loveland, a decision that sparked controversy at the time, given that Tyler Warren, the consensus TE1 in the class, was still available. When asked about that, they gushed about Loveland's fit in the offense. Considering that, it only makes sense that they finally get him more involved.
Giving up on a rookie after a couple of games is rarely the right decision to make, as some need more time to get a hold of the speed of the pro game. However, if Loveland finally steps up as expected, this should be the end of the road in Chicago for Kmet. The veteran never turned the corner with Loveland sidelined, and having him there now will only hurt the rookie's development.