Tag: Bears tight ends

Bears 2023 training camp preview: Tight ends

Our next Bears position preview going into training camp is tight end, headlined by Cole Kmet and newcomer Robert Tonyan.

Chicago Bears training camp is less than a month away, which means it’s time to start looking ahead at the roster the team is bringing to Lake Forest.

We’re unveiling our Bears 2023 training camp position previews, where we’re breaking down every player by position and examining the biggest question facing the group.

Up next is the tight end position, led by Cole Kmet who is coming off the best season of his young career. But he’s not the only tight end on the team who can be a dynamic receiving threat.

The Bears added veteran Robert Tonyan in free agency, giving Chicago another weapon for quarterback Justin Fields. Veteran Stephen Carlson and second-year players Jake Tonges and Chase Allen round out the group.

Here’s a closer look at the Bears’ tight ends heading into training camp.

Former Bears TE Trey Burton placed on injured reserve…again

It’s the same old story for former Bears TE Trey Burton, who landed on injured reserve with the Colts after suffering a calf injury.

It’s the same old story for former Chicago Bears tight end Trey Burton, whose redemption story in Indianapolis was cut temporarily short when he was placed on injured reserve on Monday.

Burton, who signed with the Colts after being released by Chicago, suffered a calf injury during the Colts’ second training camp scrimmage on Aug. 29. Colts head coach Frank Reich originally thought Burton would miss the first two weeks, but they’re working on determining a more realistic return.

While Burton would normally have to wait eight weeks before being permitted to rejoin the active roster, this year those on IR only have to sit out three games before they can return to practice. The team still has 21 days to decide whether to return that player to the active roster or send them back to IR for the rest of the season.

Chicago signed Burton to a four-year, $32 million contract, which included $22 million guaranteed, back in 2018. While Burton had a career-best season with the Bears in 2018 — 54 catches for 569 receiving yards and six touchdowns — it was ultimately his lack of availability that was his downfall.

But it wasn’t just Burton who struggled at tight end in 2019. The Bears essentially cleared house following last year’s disappointing effort, with J.P. Holtz the only survivor that remains on the 53-man roster.

Lucky for the Bears, there have been rave reviews about their tight ends in veteran Jimmy Graham and rookie Cole Kmet throughout training camp. Matt Nagy even went as far to call the tight ends room a “strength” for this team. Mitchell Trubisky, who was named the team’s starting quarterback. will certainly benefit from having two big tight ends to target.

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Former Bears TE Trey Burton suffered calf injury at Colts practice

Former Bears TE Trey Burton hit another injury snag during Saturday’s Colts practice, where he appeared to injure his left calf.

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Former Bears tight end Trey Burton had his share of injury struggles during his two seasons in Chicago. Whether it was the groin injury that held him out of the NFC Wild Card game during 2018 or landing on injured reserve last season with a calf injury, Burton couldn’t stay on the field.

The Bears released Burton this offseason, and he was soon scooped up by the Indianapolis Colts, where he would get another opportunity to prove himself.

Unfortunately for Burton, his bad luck has followed him to Indianapolis. Burton suffered an injury during Saturday’s practice, where he had to be helped off the field. According to Dov Kleiman, Burton couldn’t put weight on his left foot after sustaining the injury.

According to Indy Star’s Joel Erickson, Burton suffered a strained or pulled muscle in his left calf.

In 2018, Chicago signed Burton to a four-year, $32 million contract, which included $22 million guaranteed. While Burton had a career-best season with the Bears in 2018 — 54 catches for 569 receiving yards and six touchdowns — it was ultimately his lack of availability that was his downfall.

Meanwhile in Chicago, there have been rave reviews about the Bears’ new crop of tight ends, including rookie Cole Kmet and veterans Jimmy Graham and Demetrius Harris. Whoever does win the starting quarterback job between Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles will have some big targets to throw to.

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Bears believe rookie TE Cole Kmet might be ‘a tick ahead of schedule’

Bears TEs coach Clancy Barone believes that rookie Cole Kmet is already playing at an NFL level.

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There’s always an acclimation period for rookies as they adjust from the college game to the NFL. And that certainly hasn’t been made any easier with the limitations with the COVID-19 pandemic, which has prevented rookies from seeing the practice field with teammates until training camp.

But that doesn’t seem to be the case for Bears rookie tight end Cole Kmet, who has been impressing early on in training camp. Which is certainly encouraging given Chicago lacked solid tight end production from a season ago.

Bears tight ends coach Clancy Barone believes that Kmet is already playing at an NFL level, which is on par with what’s been said of Kmet during a virtual offseason.

“I would say Cole is on schedule — if not maybe a tick ahead of schedule,” Barone said, via the Chicago Sun-Times. “Not to make it sound too grand, but I have zero concerns about Cole Kmet. I really do.”

Kmet was the Bears’ top draft choice in the NFL Draft at pick No. 43, and there’s a belief that he can develop into the kind of tight end that Matt Nagy’s offense needs to thrive.

Luckily, he’s learning from one of the best in veteran Jimmy Graham, who has also been impressive in the first two padded practices of training camp.

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Matt Nagy likes where Bears tight ends room is at heading into 2020

The Bears overhauled the tight end position this offseason, and head coach Matt Nagy likes what he’s got to work with heading into 2020.

The Chicago Bears tight ends room looks virtually unrecognizable from this time last year. Of the current seven tight ends on the roster, only Jesper Horsted was on the roster at training camp last year. And for good reason.

Chicago’s tight ends group was one of the collective worst in the NFL last season. They combined for 36 receptions, 416 receiving yards and just 2 touchdowns, as well as three tight ends on injured reserve, which led to Trey Burton, Adam Shaheen and Ben Braunecker all released or traded from the team.

“It’s an important position,” coach Matt Nagy told reporters last week. “We know that, we understand that. So that’s our job, is at the end of the season you evaluate where you’re at. We did that, we made some moves, we like where we’re at right now.”

The Bears brought in three new tight ends to overhaul the position, including second-round rookie Cole Kmet and veterans Jimmy Graham and Demetrius Harris. They also return Horsted and J.P. Holtz from last season. And Nagy likes what he sees at the position.

“There’s going to be great competition for them to get in there and do what they can do,” Nagy said. “Having tight ends—whether it’s in the run game or the pass game—in all of our opinions is very, very important and so we wanted to try to get better and improve in that area as well as a bunch of other areas.

“That was a start and we’re excited. I know I’m excited. The rest of our coaches on staff are excited to see how it goes when the pads come on. We’ve got a great group of guys, I mean Jimmy coming in here with the experience that he has; I told you he’s got a little chip on his shoulder right now, which I like. Demetrius Harris and I have a history from Kansas City, so we have a plan with him. We drafted Cole Kmet, and then we have a nice group of other guys that we’re excited to see really come in and compete.”

Hopefully the result is far better production at the position in 2020, especially given the importance of the tight end in Nagy’s offense.

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Projecting the 4 Bears tight ends on 53-man roster

Following the trade of Adam Shaheen, we’re projecting the four tight ends that will make the 53-man roster heading into 2020.

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

Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

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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Report: The Bears are trading TE Adam Shaheen to the Dolphins

The Bears are trading former second-round tight end Adam Shaheen to the Dolphins for a conditional 2021 sixth-round draft pick.

In what’s a surprise to no one, the Adam Shaheen era in Chicago is coming to an end.

The Bears are trading the former second-round tight end to the Miami Dolphins for a conditional sixth round pick in 2021, according to multiple reports.

The move doesn’t come as a surprise, as it was anticipated that Shaheen wouldn’t survive training camp. It’s actually a good move by general manager Ryan Pace to get something for Shaheen.

Shaheen, who has battled injuries throughout his three-year career, hasn’t lived up to his second-round billing. In three seasons with Chicago, Shaheen has tallied 26 receptions for 249 yards and four touchdowns in 27 games.

Following a disappointing collective effort by Bears tight ends in 2019, Pace has overhauled the tight ends room. He patted ways with Trey Burton and Ben Braunecker and signed rookie Cole Kmet and veterans Jimmy Graham and Demetrius Harris.

In trading Shaheen to the Dolphins, that finds Chicago’s top three tight ends from a season ago gone from the Bears.

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3 Bears tight ends with most to gain from Ben Braunecker’s release

Ben Braunecker’s release should give some other Bears players a big opportunity to win what’s likely the final tight end roster spot.

Everyone is aware of the Chicago Bears’ crowded tight end room. In fact, it became a running joke this offseason. Especially with the three offseason additions of second-round rookie Cole Kmet and veterans Jimmy Graham and Demetrius Harris.

With Kmet, Graham and Harris expected to occupy three of the likely four tight end spots on the roster, that left one roster spot up for grabs in training camp. One of the players that figured to be a favorite to win the job was Ben Braunecker, who was entering the final year of his two-year deal.

But with the Bears needing to cut 10 players ahead of training camp on Tuesday, they made their first surprising cut with Braunecker, freeing up $1.5 million in salary cap space.

Braunecker’s release should give some other guys a big opportunity to win that final spot. But there are three Bears tight ends in particular that should benefit from Braunecker’s release.

1. J.P. Holtz

Quinn Harris-USA TODAY Sports

J.P. Holtz, an undrafted free agent out of Pittsburgh, has a great chance to earn a roster spot in training camp. Holtz was Chicago’s most productive tight end from a statistical standpoint last season, as he had the most snaps and receiving yards of any Chicago tight end last season. While it wasn’t the most impressive performance statistically, Holtz led the team with 91 yards on seven receptions.

Not only is he a terrific blocker, but there were times when Holtz lined up as a fullback last season, and his versatility certainly gives him an edge in the competition. Given the importance of the run game heading into this season, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Holtz grab that final spot.

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Chicago Bears release TE Ben Braunecker

The Bears have started making roster cuts ahead of training camp, and TE Ben Braunecker is the first big name to be released.

The Chicago Bears have released tight end Ben Braunecker, the team announced Tuesday.

Braunecker’s release frees up $1.5 million in salary cap space.

A 2016 undrafted free agent out of Harvard, Braunecker played in 47 games for the Bears. In his four seasons with the Bears, Braunecker totaled 13 receptions for 142 yards and one touchdown.

In the 2019 season, Braunecker appeared in 11 games and missed the final five games due to a concussion that placed him on the injured reserve. Braunecker recorded six receptions for 59 yards and his only touchdown.

The Bears have to make roster cuts due to the NFL limiting the training camp roster to 80 players. The remaining tight ends on the roster are Jimmy Graham, Demetrius Harris, Cole Kmet, Adam Shaheen, J.P. Holtz, Jesper Horsted, Eric Saubert, and Darion Clark.

Chicago released Trey Burton earlier this offseason, and there will be plenty more tight ends that will be released ahead of the regular season.

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Bears 2020 training camp preview: Tight ends

While the Bears have a crowded TE room, there are ultimately just four roster spots up for grabs. Let’s take a look at the Bears TEs.

Chicago Bears training camp is less than three weeks away, which means it’s time to start looking ahead at the roster the team is bringing to Lake Forest.

Next up are the tight ends, which the entire NFL world knows Chicago boasts a ton of. While the Bears have a crowded tight end room, there are ultimately just four roster spots up for grabs, and three of those spots are all but locked up with Jimmy Graham, Cole Kmet and Demetrius Harris.

Let’s take a look at the tight ends heading into training camp.

Jimmy Graham

Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

The Bears signed veteran Jimmy Graham to a two-year deal earlier this offseason, which signaled the end of Trey Burton’s career in Chicago. Graham’s signing was heavily criticized given the $9 million in guaranteed money, but Ryan Pace believes he can give their tight ends room a boost in the passing game as the starting “U” tight end.

While Graham was a force in the league during his time with the New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks, he didn’t have the same effect with the Green Bay Packers. Which could have something to do with how he was utilized — or lack there of — in Green Bay. 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.

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