Cole Kmet believes Ben Johnson hiring shows team is ready to win now
Cole Kmet believes Ben Johnson hiring shows team is ready to win now
There's been an exuberant energy surrounding the Chicago Bears franchise since the hiring of head coach Ben Johnson, and it may be most felt by the players on the roster.
Considered the best offensive minded play caller in the NFL over the past few seasons as the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions, Johnson's arrival has injected life into the Bears offense, including tight end Cole Kmet.
Following his new coach being introduced, Kmet appeared on 670 the Score and was asked about his initial thoughts of Johnson's hiring, and the talented tight end believes his new coach shows that the franchise is taking a "win now" attitude, and there will be a high bar of standards in the building.
"It's a sign that we're trying to win and trying to win now," Kmet said "... It's very exciting. The bar here is going to be very high."
There was plenty of disappointment for the Bears this season -- including a 5-12 record and a 10-game losing streak -- and offensively there may have not been anyone with a bigger disappointing season than Kmet.
Not much to his own fault, Kmet was only targeted a rather confusing 55 times in the 2024 season, his lowest total since he received 44 targets in his rookie season. In three of his five seasons with the Bears, Kmet had not seen less than 69 targets, and his usage in the offense this past season felt like one of the many downfalls to the team's success.
It will be quite interesting to see how Johnson uses Kmet moving forward with the offense, seeing how in Detroit, Sam LaPorta made a Pro Bowl and was a second-team All Pro in his rookie season. If put in the right situation, Kmet could not only become a productive part of the Bears offense again, but could put himself in the conversation among the best tight ends in the league working in his new head coach's offense.
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