The Chicago Bears are planning to break their offense “down to the studs” under new head coach Ben Johnson, and that likely means making a cap casualty out of one of their biggest free-agent mistakes from last year’s NFL free agency.
Bleacher Report’s NFL Scouting Department recently broke down three of the “most likely” cap casualties for each of the league’s 32 teams during the 2025 NFL offseason and landed on veteran tight end Gerald Everett as the top candidate for the Bears.
The Bears had signed Everett to a two-year, $12 million contract during 2024’s free agency period, but the 30-year-old struggled to maintain a meaningful role in a Bears offense that experienced much turbulence throughout the 2024 season. In 17 games, he hauled in just eight catches for 36 yards and had just 13 passing targets on the year.
“Everett will be 31 next season and is clearly second fiddle to Kmet in the pecking order,” BR’s NFL Scouting Department wrote Monday. “Not much of his 2025 cap number is guaranteed. The Bears could cut him and get $5.5 million in cap relief.”
Gerald Everett Makes Sense as Bears Cut Candidate
The Bears’ decision about whether to retain Everett for the 2025 season seems like a no-brainer after his minuscule contributions in his first season with Chicago.
While Everett is an experienced pass-catcher with 292 career receptions for 2,869 yards and 19 touchdowns, the Bears — for whatever reason — never figured out how to make the best use of his abilities in their offense. It is possible the coaching shake-ups during the season contributed to the problem, but Everett made plenty of his own mistakes with Pro Football Focus crediting him with one drop and two penalties on the season.
In the end, Pro Football Focus handed him the worst overall grade of his career (42.9), which ranked 11th-worst among NFL tight ends who took even one snap last season.
Then again, maybe Johnson sees something in Everett the Bears have not yet unlocked.
The Bears could turn all but $1 million of Everett’s $6.48 million cap hit in 2025 into salary-cap savings if they release him this offseason, but they could elect to keep him if Johnson feels he can scheme him into better situations. The Bears also have about $66 million in projected cap space for next season, giving them enough to carry him further.
Don’t bet on Everett sticking around without Johnson’s intervention, though.
Will Cole Kmet’s Role Expand Under Ben Johnson?
Everett is easy to dispatch if the Bears feel he has outlasted his usefulness, but the bigger tight end question heading into 2025 is about $50 million starter Cole Kmet.
Kmet delivered a career season for the Bears in 2023, catching 73 passes for 719 yards and six touchdowns on 90 targets after signing a four-year extension in the preseason. When the page turned to 2024, though, the Bears called their offense as though Kmet had vanished into the shadow realm and no longer had a role in their offense.
Kmet went six games in 2024 with one or fewer targets in the passing game and had another two games with just two targets. The Bears also technically started Everett in his place for their season-opening win against the Tennessee Titans, raising immediate questions — and concerns — about his role in Shane Waldron’s reimagined offense.
Consequently, Kmet finished with his lowest production since his 2020 rookie season, registering just 47 receptions for 474 yards and four touchdowns on 55 targets. That’s borderline unacceptable for one of the highest-paid skill players on the Bears’ roster.
Fortunately, Johnson made efficient use of his tight ends with the Detroit Lions. Star Sam LaPorta finished the regular season with the team’s second-most receptions (60) and third-most receiving yards (726) and tied for second in receiving touchdowns (7). He also got his No. 2 tight end involved more, getting Brock Wright 16 targets — which he turned into 13 receptions for 100 yards and two touchdowns.
Things will look differently under Johnson in Chicago, but hopefully, the new coach’s track record means good things ahead for Kmet.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Bears Predicted to Cut Ties With Veteran Free-Agent Mistake appeared first on Heavy Sports.