Ahead of the start of training camp on Tuesday, the Chicago Bears have started trimming their excess of tight ends. After releasing Ben Braunecker on Friday, the Bears traded former second-round pick Adam Shaheen to the Miami Dolphins for a conditional sixth-round pick in 2021.
With the trade of Shaheen, the Bears have parted ways with their top three tight ends from a season ago, and Chicago’s tight ends room is going to look a lot different in 2020.
While the top three tight end spots are essentially locked up, there’s still one roster spot up for grabs during training camp between J.P. Holtz and Jesper Horsted.
Let’s take a look at the four tight ends that will likely be on the Bears’ roster in 2020.
1. Jimmy Graham
The Bears signed veteran tight end Jimmy Graham to a two-year deal this offseason with the hope that he can give their tight ends room a boost in the passing game as the starting “U” tight end. Although Graham is far from the same player he was during his time in New Orleans and Seattle. Graham’s signing was heavily criticized given the $9 million in guaranteed money, but Ryan Pace is turning to Graham to do what Trey Burton couldn’t do during his time in Chicago.
Last season, Graham had 38 receptions for 447 yards and three touchdowns, which was more than all of Chicago’s tight ends combined in 2019. With a big focus on the tight end in Matt Nagy’s offense, Graham will have a chance to improve those numbers.
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