Bears head coach Matt Eberflus knew not all of his players would be thrilled to lose quarterback Justin Fields, so before the trade that sent Fields to Pittsburgh, Eberflus called Fields’ close friends on the team to touch base with them.
That included Bears tight end Cole Kmet, who said he was planning to go out for a St. Patrick’s Day weekend celebration in Chicago until Eberflus called him, at which point he decided he wasn’t in a mood to celebrate.
“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 said on the CHGO Bears podcast. “Obviously, really 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.”
Still, Kmet said he appreciates that Eberflus was willing to talk to him about the situation.
“I don’t expect them to call me for that kind of thing, but it’s always nice when they do reach out,” Kmet said. “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 definitely grateful that they do that, and it’s not something they have to do, by any means.”
Kmet believes that the Bears are in a good position to win with 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.”
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