Is Matt Nagy trolling Chicago Bears fans with this personnel decision?

One of the more baffling things of the Chicago Bears season has been their usage or lack thereof of tight ends. The team had every chance to get rid of Jimmy Graham but kept him with the idea that he would compliment Cole Kmet, and Matt Nagy had been looking for a two tight end set. The team even added Jesse James to ensure that they had depth at the position.

Through six games, it had been frustrating to note the lack of two-tight end usage. It appeared as though Jimmy Graham was cashing checks to do nothing. When he hit the COVID list, many fans did not put much into it, considering his lack of usage.

Then, Jesse James wound up playing more in Week 7 than Graham has played all season. You heard that right; Jesse James played 26 snaps on Sunday, 39% of the team’s offensive snaps. On the season, Graham has played just under 26% of the team’s offensive snaps.

There can be some explanation. To start, in the past three games, Graham has played 37%, 39%, and 31% of the offensive snaps, showing that they have been working him much more in recent weeks. Still, all three are below the rate James played on Sunday.

It can be argued that the Bears have used an extra offensive lineman at times. Still, with Elijah Wilkinson out and Lachavious Simmons benched, they needed Bars as an actual lineman. So, without the extra lineman, James got more snaps.

Still, this is all too baffling to understand. Graham is not trusted to be a tight end like Alex Bars, or the Bears saw Graham was out and thought they now have a backup tight end that they can trust to block.

Both statements are damning of Jimmy Graham and the reality that he is still on this roster. Isn’t it ironic that with Graham healthy, we clamor for more tight ends, and once Graham is out, we get our wish?