Bears head coach Matt Eberflus anticipated that not all his players would react positively to the departure of quarterback Justin Fields. Before the trade that sent Fields to Pittsburgh, Eberflus reached out to Fields’ close friends on the team to connect with them.
This included Bears tight end Cole Kmet, who had plans for a St. Patrick’s Day weekend celebration in Chicago. However, after receiving a call from Eberflus, Kmet changed his plans and felt somber about the news.
“I was planning to hit the city and go out, but then I got a call from Flus and the people with the Bears and decided to stay in after the news with Justin,” Kmet shared on the CHGO Bears podcast. “Upsetting that it came to that, and where it was at that moment, but you kind of felt like the writing was on the wall with that.”
Despite the disappointment, Kmet expressed gratitude for Eberflus’s gesture in addressing the situation with him. “I don’t expect them to call me for that kind of thing, but it’s always nice when they do reach out,” Kmet remarked.
“I think that’s a classy move by them to let guys who have been with Justin and are close with Justin let them know about the decision and why they made the decision. So I’m grateful that they do that, and it’s not something they have to do, by any means.”
Kmet remains optimistic about the Bears’ future, especially with the potential of a rookie quarterback, likely USC’s Caleb Williams.
“I still think, really exciting times for the Bears here,” Kmet said. “This is really exciting times and with whatever rookie they decide to go with, looks like that’s the direction that it’s going, what a great opportunity. What a great opportunity for a young kid to come in here with an infrastructure in place and be ready to go win football games from the get-go.”
