Projected 2024 contracts are published for these four Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears Pending Free Agent: Cole Kmet, TE

Next up is Cole Kmet. When I look at what Ryan Poles wants in a player, I envision a player like Kmet. He is a hard worker. He brings positive energy. He is a local kid who truly loves playing for the Chicago Bears. He is coming off a career year with seven touchdowns and 544 receiving yards. His catch rate was 72.5% and he only had two drops on the year. Justin Fields saw a QB rating of over 100 when targeting his tight end and things should open up for him even more this season.

For his career, Cole Kmet has a 67.0% catch rate. He finished in the top 12 in tight end stats in 2021 and was the TE7 in 2022. His upside is there as a blocker too. Out of the main four, Kmet, Jaylon Johnson, Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool, I expect Kmet to be the only sure contract extension.

Spotrac has him earning close to top-10 money. They are projecting him to earn just over $45 million dollars over four years. His average annual salary would be roughly $11.3 million per year. This contract would fall in line with past contracts of David Njoku, Tyler Conklin, Dallas Goedert and Hunter Henry when they were all 25 or 26 years old. Kmet won't be 25 until next March. I expect him to match or exceed his 2022 numbers this year.