The following is the fourth of nine position previews in advance of training camp.
The Bears boast one of the NFL's deepest and most talented tight end rooms with emerging second-year pro Colston Loveland, veteran Cole Kmet and rookie third-round pick Sam Roush.
Loveland will look to pick up where he left off last year. Selected by the Bears with the 10th pick in the 2025 draft, he blossomed into a key contributor in his first NFL season, consistently producing impact plays. The Idaho native caught 58 passes for 713 yards and six touchdowns, becoming the first rookie to lead the Bears in receiving yards since Willie Gault in 1983 and the first rookie tight end to do so since Hall of Famer Mike Ditka in 1961.
Loveland's breakout year came after he had missed all offseason practices while recovering from surgery to repair a shoulder injury he had sustained in 2024 while playing at Michigan. After averaging 1.8 catches and 19.3 yards with no touchdowns in six games in September and October, he averaged 4.9 receptions and 65.8 yards with six TDs in the final 12 contests, including the postseason.
In a thrilling 31-27 comeback win over the rival Packers in a wild card game at Soldier Field, Loveland had eight receptions for 137 yards, including gains of 29, 22, 22, 21 and 19 yards to help the Bears erase an 18-point deficit.
Entering his second season working with coach Ben Johnson and quarterback Caleb Williams, Loveland figures to be even more comfortable playing an integral role on offense.
"I love what he brings to the table," Johnson said during minicamp in June. "He's one of the most consistent players I've been around, and that's saying a lot for a young guy, because I think it takes a while before guys can truly understand what it means to be a professional. But he's in early, he's always in his playbook, he's always taking notes. I think he really thrives with being available in the pressure moments. That's the type of guy that he wants to be.
"A lot of trust with the coaching staff, with the quarterbacks. I'm really happy with where he's at right now. We've been able to take the route tree to the next level, and it's something we're going to continue to develop in training camp as well."
Loveland forms a dynamic tandem with Kmet, a seventh-year pro who remains a valuable component on an offense that frequently employs multi-tight end formations. The 2020 second-round pick from Notre Dame has proven throughout his career that he is equally adept at blocking and catching passes.
Kmet produced one of the most memorable plays of a magical 2025 season when he hauled in a 14-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-4 to force overtime in a divisional playoff game against the Rams.
Trailing 17-10 in the final minute of regulation, Williams retreated under heavy pressure and flung a pass 50 yards off his back foot from the 40 to the back left corner of the end zone, where Kmet snared the ball, tying the score 17-17 with :18 remaining.
Last season Kmet caught 30 passes for 347 yards and two TDs. He enters the 2026 campaign ranked second among tight ends in franchise history behind Ditka with 288 receptions, 2,939 yards and 21 TDs.
Roush was chosen by the Bears with the 69th pick in the draft. A three-year starter at Stanford, he appeared in 48 games over four seasons, catching 119 passes for 1,201 yards and four touchdowns. Last year he was named second-team All-ACC after establishing career highs with 49 receptions, 545 yards and two TDs.
General manager Ryan Poles described Roush as "really a good addition at the tight end spot for a team that runs a lot of 12 (one running back/two tight ends) and 13 (one running back/three tight ends) personnel."
"I think we're top five in both of those personnel groups," Poles said during the draft. "That was important to us to add a 'Y' (inline tight end) to the group. We'll have a really strong room there. Feel great about that."
In Johnson's first year as coach, the Bears relied heavily on three tight ends. Even with Kmet and Loveland both playing 16 of 17 games, third tight end Durham Smythe was still on the field for 293 snaps (25% of the season total).
"I think if you ask coach, the more the merrier in that tight end room," said Bears director of player personnel Trey Koziol. "The nice thing with Sam is that he's got the versatility to play both in-line and off the ball. So now all of a sudden you've got three versatile tight ends who can each do a little bit of everything."
Other tight ends who will compete in training camp are Stephen Carlson, Qadir Ismail, Nikola Kalinic and Hayden Large.
Carlson has spent most of the past three seasons on the Bears practice squad, playing one snap in 2023 and appearing in two games last year.
Ismail, who is the son of former NFL receiver Qadry Ismail, joined the Bears practice squad last November. He has also had stints with the Ravens, Raiders, Giants and Jaguars but has not played in a regular-season game.
Kalinic appeared in two games with the Bears last year, playing 29 snaps all on special teams. He previously had played seven contests with two starts with the Colts in 2022 and two games as a reserve with the Rams in 2024.
Large was signed by the Bears this year as an undrafted rookie. He appeared in 38 games the last three seasons at Iowa, catching 14 passes for 89 yards.
