There's been no secret surrounding what is going on with the Chicago Bears' offense and the lack of involvement with the tight ends, Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet.
Bears head coach Ben Johnson is not used to this, as he often used Sam LaPorta in the Detroit Lions offense when Johnson was the coordinator on that side of the ball. It has not been the same with his two games in the Windy City.
Kmet has had six targets and caught three of them for 60 yards. Loveland, a first-round pick, is in even worse shape with two receptions on three targets for 12 yards.
Some have started to bring up that the Bears made a fatal mistake with selecting Loveland when they could have selected Indianapolis Colts tight end Tyler Warren, who has over 150 yards in his first two games. Others have questioned Bears general manager Ryan Poles for his choice in selecting a tight end instead of another position, like offensive or defensive line, if they weren't going to use the tight ends.
Johnson took the heat off of everyone in his press conference on Wednesday and took all the blame for Kmet and Loveland not getting enough looks.
"The fact that the tight ends aren't involved much is a reflection on me, and I'm on that."
Ben Johnson points the finger at himself for Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet not getting the ball enough:
— CHGO Bears (@CHGO_Bears) September 17, 2025
"The fact that the tight ends are not involved more is on me."
Johnson's promise of more tight end use should be encouraging for Bears fans
The Bears' passing hasn't been terrible, with the team averaging 222 yards per game so far. It's been more of a two-man show between Rome Odunze and DJ Moore, who have combined for 279 yards, with Odunze catching all three touchdowns.
During training camp and the preseason, the buzz was around whether the Bears would consider trading Kmet so that Loveland could be the number one guy at tight end. Johnson would prefer to have two tight end sets and run both on the field.
It's been a mystery as to why they haven't been involved, but last year might show an interesting sign. Kmet statistically had his worst season since his rookie year in 2020, with only 55 targets, catching 47 of them for 474 yards and four touchdowns with Caleb Williams. Is this more of a Johnson problem or a Williams issue?
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Johnson has to get more plays designed to get the ball in the hands of Loveland or Kmet, but Williams also needs to do more to find them. There seems to be a plan in place, but whether the Bears can execute it is another question.