Former Bears Cut-Candidate Trade Proposal Lands Him in Baltimore – heavy.com

Ever since the Chicago Bears selected All-American tight end Colston Loveland with the 10th overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft, the future of Cole Kmet has been put into doubt.
Loveland was the Bears’ top pass catcher by total receiving yards last year with 712, whilst Kmet was reduced to just 347 – the lowest of his career since his inaugural season back in 2020.
Kmet was been labelled as both a trade and cut candidate by numerous media outlets over the past few months, yet it the new league year came and went the former second round pick remained on the team.
However, according to Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox the possibility of the Notre Dame alum being traded over the next few months prior to the start of next season is far from over, and in his latest piece lists a Kmet trade to the Baltimore Ravens, in exchange for a conditional 2027 4th round pick, as one of the “biggest potential trades that could still happen in 2026”.
“Kmet has been productive throughout his Bears tenure, but he may not be viewed as expendable due to the emergence of rookie Colston Loveland in 2025. Trading Kmet would save Chicago $7.4 million in cap space of $9 million if traded after June 1.” Knox argues.
In this potentially win-win move the Bears save cap space whilst the Ravens acquire another receiving tight end option alongside All-Pro Mark Andrews who has ties to an existing key member of Baltimore’s coaching staff.
“For Baltimore, adding Kmet would make a ton of sense. The Ravens lost tight ends Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar in free agency. Kmet is a solid pass-catcher who has tallied 2,939 receiving yards in six seasons and who just turned 27 years old in March.” Knox wrote. “Kmet also has experience under new Ravens offensive coordinator Declan Doyle, who held the same position last season in Chicago.”
It is quite likely that Kmet’s fate will rest of what happens in the ensuing NFL draft in just over 10 days time.
The 27-year old is a boon in the receiving game, and after losing wideout D.J. Moore to the Bills in a trade last month, Chicago may be wary of moving off another one of Caleb Williams‘ targets in the passing game.
Having said that, in this forthcoming receiver-rich draft, it feels fairly likely that the Bears will target a receiver with one of their first three selections in the draft, all of which are in the top 60 picks.
Indeed, there are also some fairly solid mid-round tight end prospects such as Eli Stowers and Max Klare that the team could bring in to bulk up the room and make a Kmet departure feel less momentous.
If they do manage to secure a tight end and/or wideout in the draft this year, it would make substantial financial sense to move off Kmet this offseason. For a team that is just over $1 million below the salary cap in 2026 and ranks #23 in the league in cap space for 2027, getting rid of a veteran deal for a player no longer categorized as a starter would clearly be a prudent move.
 
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Daniel Arwas Daniel Arwas is a sports writer who covers the NFL for Heavy.com. Daniel began his career in sports writing in 2022 and has covered the NFL and college football for Gridiron Heroics and The Hammer. More about Daniel Arwas
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