Cole Kmet carted off with knee injury in Bears' win over Patriots

Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet was carted off with a right knee injury late in Thursday night’s 30-24 Week 7 victory over the New England Patriots at Soldier Field. (https://mcgraw-media.com/2026/10/23/bears-cole-kmet-knee-injury-carted-off-patriots/)

With under six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Kmet caught an eight-yard pass from Caleb Williams before being tackled low by linebacker Robert Spillane and cornerback Christian Gonzalez. The 27-year-old immediately grabbed his right knee, was helped to his feet by trainers but could not put any weight on the leg, and gave the home crowd a thumbs-up as the cart took him to the locker room. The Bears quickly ruled him out for the rest of the game. (https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/bears-te-cole-kmet-carted-off-with-a-knee-injury; https://talksport.com/nfl/4661879/caleb-williams-chicago-bears-cole-kmet-injury-update-latest/)

He finished with three catches for 28 yards — one of his busier outings of a quiet season that had brought just seven catches for 59 yards entering the night, per the Chicago Sun-Times. (https://mcgraw-media.com/2026/10/23/bears-cole-kmet-knee-injury-carted-off-patriots/)

Head coach Ben Johnson offered a bleak early outlook after the game: “We’ll know more about it tomorrow, but I don’t think it looked very good.” A definitive diagnosis is expected on Friday. (https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/ben-johnson-cole-kmets-knee-injury-doesnt-look-good)

Williams called Kmet “the longest-tenured Bear, I believe”, adding: “I don’t know exactly what it is, but getting carted off is never good.” (https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/ben-johnson-cole-kmets-knee-injury-doesnt-look-good)

It is a cruel blow for one of Chicago’s iron men — Bears Wire notes Kmet has missed just one game in seven seasons. The win moved the Bears to 5-2 and dropped New England to 4-3, sealed by Cairo Santos’s career-long 58-yard field goal with 1:34 left. (https://bearswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/bears/2026/10/22/bears-cole-kmet-knee-injury/92390953007/; https://mcgraw-media.com/2026/10/23/bears-cole-kmet-knee-injury-carted-off-patriots/)