Cubs News: Kmet on learning from veteran Lewis, progression of run game |
LAKE FOREST, I.L. - Tight end Cole Kmet is entering his fifth season in the NFL with the Bears, making him the most tenured player with the Bears, along with cornerback Jaylon Johnson.
While starters like him and Johnson were not able to play in the Hall of Fame game, Kmet said that seeing the offense click in the way it did is a promising sign for the season to come. “It was cool to see all those guys do really well, and (quarterback) Brett (Rypien) obviously had a great job executing the offense and all those things. It’s good for everybody to see when things like that are clicking. When you get in those preseason games, you just want to make sure that you’re operating well, and I think that was the case the other night,” Kmet said. Despite being such a tenured player for the Bears, Kmet is one of the younger players in the tight end room at 25 years old. Gerald Everett, who the Bears acquired in free agency, is going into his eighth season in the NFL as he turned 30 during the offseason, while fellow tight end Marcedes Lewis is going into his nineteenth season and turned 40 back in May before being signed by Chicago in June. With such experience in the locker room, Kmet is taking advantage of what these players, particularly Lewis, have learned in the league and about managing life outside of the NFL. “Perspective on life, how to handle yourself outside of football. I think that’s been really cool to learn, just how (Lewis) gets away from the game in the offseason and it helps him become so motivated during the season I think learning things in the run game that I’ve never learned before from a tight end has been really cool and obviously, all the experiences he had,” Kmet said. “It’s cool to get his perspective on the game and how it’s changed over the years.” A lot changed with the offense during the offseason. Besides the addition of Everett, the Bears got a new quarterback in rookie Caleb Williams, acquired receiver Keenan Allen via trade with the Los Angeles Chargers, drafted rookie receiver Rome Odunze, and picked up running back D’Andre Swift in free agency. With all of these new pieces, it can be difficult for the offense to develop chemistry. While there have certainly been ups and downs during training camp, Kmet said he is happy with how the run game has looked thus far, a promising sign for a team that was one of the best rushing offenses last season. “I’ve been really happy with our run game in camp … I’ve been really happy with that. I think that’s looked really well, and obviously, Caleb’s done some really cool stuff, and I think (offensive coordinator) Shane (Waldron), when we were watching the game the other day, I just liked how we flowed plays together and made a lot of sense to me and how he was calling the plays. So, that was really cool to see, and like I said at the beginning with Shane, I think he’s a really great teacher. Guys have (really) bought into his process, and I still see that happening. I do. We still got a lot of time here in camp,” Kmet said. “We got a good month still before that first game. So, we got a lot of time to get this thing right and a lot of practice reps to get through all this. But, I like where it’s going.” Given all of the new additions, this group will need to see some time on the field in the preseason before the regular season. While that did not happen against the Houston Texans in the Hall of Fame game, it is possible that it will happen in Chicago’s next preseason game on Saturday, Aug. 10, against the Buffalo Bills (Noon / NFL Network).
