This NFL trade idea sends Chicago Bears TE Cole Kmet to the Carolina Panthers.
An NFL trade idea sending Cole Kmet from the Chicago Bears to the Carolina Panthers has been created.
Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports proposed the following trade idea between the Panthers and Bears:
Panthers get: Cole Kmet
Bears get: 2026 fourth-round pick (119th), 2027 conditional sixth-round pick
Kmet is a talented TE, but he could be expendable in Chicago now because the Bears have Colston Loveland. Kmet finished last season with 30 receptions for 347 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.
The 27-year-old Kmet has been in the NFL since 2020. He has 288 catches for 2,939 receiving yards and 21 receiving touchdowns with the Bears, who traded former Carolina star D.J. Moore to the Buffalo Bills this offseason.
The Panthers already have a star playmaker for QB Bryce Young in WR Tetairoa McMillan, who finished his rookie season with 70 catches for 1,014 receiving yards and seven receiving touchdowns. Carolina's offense would become more dynamic with Kmet in the fold.
"It’s a make-or-break year for quarterback Bryce Young, and the Panthers have done a good job of surrounding him with receivers and running backs," Vacchiano wrote. "But they don’t have a reliable target at tight end — often the best friend of an emerging quarterback. Kmet showed what he was capable in 2023 when he caught 73 passes for 719 yards and six touchdowns, but the emergence of Colston Loveland has made him an afterthought in Chicago. With two years and $20 million left on his contract, the Bears could be enticed to move on now."
Young finished the 2025 season with 3,011 passing yards, 23 passing touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 216 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. He led the Panthers to the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 campaign.
The Panthers lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the 2026 playoffs' wild-card round at home. Young played well in his playoff debut. The youngster had 264 passing yards, one passing touchdown and one rushing touchdown.
Young enters next season with 8,291 passing yards, 49 passing touchdowns, 30 interceptions, 718 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns in a Carolina uniform. He's 14-30-0 as a starter.
It will be fascinating to see if Carolina pursues a trade for a WR or TE this offseason. Kmet next to McMillan would be fun to watch.
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