With final cuts right on the horizon, pretty soon all 32 NFL teams will have their finalized roster with the 2025 NFL season set to kick off shortly. Over the next few days, we are going to see a lot of roster movement as teams make the necessary cuts to get down to 53 players, as well as signing some to the practice squad as well. It’s going to get hectic leading up to the first week of September. 

On top of the obvious roster cuts, some teams will also be wheeling and dealing in the trade market also. A to Z Sports put out some players who could be interesting targets to keep a close eye on in the trade market. That included former Notre Dame standout tight end Cole Kmet, who has also been a notable performer for the Chicago Bears over the last few years. 

During the 2025 NFL Draft, the Bears selected former Michigan All-American tight end Colston Loveland with the No. 10 overall selection. It was an interesting pick with Kmet already having a presence on the roster. That has led analyst Wendell Ferreira to ponder his availability. 

Here is what Ferreira wrote about Kmet. 

TE – Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears

Kmet is a solid starting tight end, but the Bears showed their cards by taking Colston Loveland with the 10th overall pick. While Chicago could realistically keep both players and use more 12 personnel, it’s hard to pay $10 million for your second tight end. In this case, it would make sense to recoup some draft capital and open up cap space, even if the Bears had to absorb a part of his salary this season to help facilitate a deal. Kmet is slated to make $10 million in each of the next three seasons, but there are no guarantees left. — Wendell Ferreira

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Kmet is coming off of his least productive season for the Bears in 2024 since his rookie season. In 17 games played, the 6-6, 257-pound pass catcher managed to haul in just 47 receptions for 474 yards and four touchdowns. He has, however, had spurts of really good production in his five-year career. During that stretch, Kmet has managed to make 258 receptions for 2,592 yards and 19 touchdowns. 

The former Fighting Irish standout was originally selected by Chicago in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Kmet has been the most productive tight end in that class, and it isn’t particularly close to this point. 

Once a highly touted recruit, Kmet did deal with some injuries during his career in South Bend. When healthy, he managed to flash some outstanding talent. In three seasons with the team, Kmet managed to haul in 60 receptions for 691 yards and six touchdowns. The majority of those numbers came in his final season in 2019. 

While Kmet might not be the most dynamic pass catcher of all time, he is an efficient player with a huge catch radius, strong hands, and natural feel to find openings in a defense. If a team does make a push for him, they would be potentially bringing in a 26-year old player with some upside still to tap into.