Chicago Bears 2025: Smythe signing signals team’s commitment to Kmet

With the signing of tight end Durham Smythe, it appears as the Chicago Bears’ commitment to Cole Kmet is stronger than it was in 2024.

The new NFL year is still days away yet Chicago Bears General Manager Ryan Poles has been busy making over the roster. He brought in Pro Bowl offensive linemen to strengthen the unit. Additionally, he re-signed edge rusher Daniel Hardy and cornerback Josh Blackwell.

Poles is not finished, however. After waiving Gerald Everett there is a need for a tight end. Poles addressed that by signing Durham Smythe. Smythe was previously with the Miami Dolphins. Now he comes in to help the tight end unit.

The Smythe signing is not a huge move by the Chicago Bears. He has 132 catches in 112 career games for 1,228 yards and 3 touchdowns. Smythe was mainly used as a blocking tight end with Miami.

Smythe could be a good pickup for the Chicago Bears. He is reunited with two people in the organization — head coach Ben Johnson and fellow tight end Cole Kmet. Kmet and Smythe were teammates in college with Notre Dame and Johnson was the wide receivers coach in Miami.

The #Bears are signing former #Dolphins TE Durham Smythe to a 1-year deal, source says, as he’s back with Ben Johnson — his former WRs coach in Miami. Smythe was one of the longest tenured Dolphins. pic.twitter.com/KCc7YclSVu

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 6, 2025

Johnson got to see Smythe’s best work while in Miami. In the final two seasons before Johnson left for the Detroit Lions Smythe had 60 catches for 565 yards In the next three seasons he had 59 catches for 548 yards and one touchdown. He has been mainly used as a blocking tight end but he can make some plays.

The addition of Smythe could be a boost for the offensive line. Despite the new additions to the line (and likely more when free agency and the draft come) having as much help for the offensive line is a big priority for the Chicago Bears.

This could be some good news for Kmet. The Chicago Bears woefully underused him, especially in 2024. He was targeted just 55 times and caught 47 of them. Both were his lowest totals since his rookie season, when he had 44 targets and 28 catches.

It was frustrating for fans to see so little attention paid to Kmet last season. The math shows that he caught 85.5 percent of his targets. That makes him a very dependable player to target. It was not a one-off, either. In 2023, he received 90 targets and caught 73 of them for a catch percentage of 81.1 percent.

Johnson showed in Detroit that he likes using his tight ends. In his first season there, he targeted the tight ends 68 times despite not having starter T.J. Hockenson for 10 games. In 2023 the number of targets shot up to 136. If course, that was due to the addition of rookie Sam LaPorta‘s 120 targets. In 2024, the number was 100 targets.

With Smythe in as help for the blocking on the line, Kmet will be freed up to be more involved in the offense. With his great hands and route running, he could be a valuable asset for quarterback Caleb Williams. Kmet has had some very good runs during his career. However, they have been too few and far between.

Johnson wants to have a similar dynamic offense with the Chicago Bears that he built up for the Lions. To do that, he needs help from the tight ends. Johnson likes to have one tight end to have the workload while the others are mainly used for blocking and providing support.

Smythe understands what Johnson wants to do on offense so he could be a valuable asset in helping Kmet and other members of the offense.

Kmet should prepare to have the busiest season of his career in 2025. The offensive line should be improved so Williams will have plenty of opportunities to throw the ball. With Kmet’s hands route running, and size, he needs to become Williams’ security blanket, especially in the red zone. Williams needs to feel that he can go to Kmet in big situations.

Kmet has shown that he has the skills. Now it is time for the Chicago Bears to give him the shot to prove it.

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