Cole Kmet entered the 2024 season as the Chicago Bears' starting tight end but in the team's Week 6 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Kmet had a new role for the team's offense.
During the first quarter of Sunday's game, Bears' long snapper Scott Daly suffered a knee injury and was ruled out for the remainder of the game. Daly was a late addition to the Bears' roster in the preseason due to Patrick Scales opening the season on injured reserve.
With Scales still on injured reserve for Sunday's game, the Bears have turned to Kmet as the emergency long snapper.
The Bears ruled long snapper Scott Daly (knee) OUT for the rest of the game. It'll be Cole Kmet as the emergency snapper.
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) October 13, 2024
Kmet's role as the team's long snapper and starting tight end was amplified in the second quarter. On the Bears' first scoring drive of the game, rookie quarterback Caleb Williams connected with Kmet on a gorgeous 31-yard touchdown pass.
.@CALEBcsw with the double fake and finds @ColeKmet for the touchdown in London ‼️
— NFL (@NFL) October 13, 2024
📺: #JAXvsCHI on NFL Network
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/9Vky68cIuB
As clunky as Waldron's opening quarter was for the Bears' offense, the touchdown pass from Williams to Kmet is reason to remain excited about not only the players on offense but also the play-caller. The double-fake to Keenan Allen and DJ Moore created the perfect opening for Kmet down the middle of the field.
Cole Kmet does it all on Bears' first Week 6 scoring drive
Kmet didn't forget about his new role on offense either. Immediately after scoring the touchdown, Kmet was on the field with the Bears' special teams unit as the long snapper. The operation was clean as Kmet snapped to rookie punter Tory Taylor before Cairo Santos drilled home the point after the touchdown.
It's worth noting that the Bears are on a bye week after Sunday's game. The added time off gives Daly extra time to recover, or Scales may be ready to return.