Bear Digest

Only one Bears player is headed to the 2025 Tight End University camp

Only one Bears player will be at Tight End U this year.
Pete Martuneac|
Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

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For the past five years, three of the greatest tight ends of the 21st century (George Kittle, Travis Kelce, and Greg Olsen) have hosted an annual summer camp for NFL tight ends, the aptly named Tight End University. It's a way for these experienced veterans to give back to up-and-coming tight ends and help them hit their full potential in the NFL.

But despite the numerous benefits to this camp, only one Chicago Bears tight end will be attending, and he's not even one of the top two tight ends on the roster, Durhan Smythe. Smythe joined the Bears on a one-year deal after spending the last seven with the Miami Dolphins, including one overlapping year with Bears head coach Ben Johnson.

It surprised some Bears fans that neither Cole Kmet, who has always been in attendance at Tight End University in the past, nor the rookie Colston Loveland appeared on the list of attendees. Kmet has been a studious learner his entire career, eager to absorb as much information from successful veterans as possible, and Loveland is a rookie who could surely benefit from this program.

But their absence makes sense when you consider their separate circumstances. Kmet recently married his long-time girlfriend and probably wants to enjoy married life for a while. Once training camp starts, the time he'll have available for his wife will shrink dramatically. As for Loveland, he hasn't yet gone through a full practice as he is still recovering from his shoulder injury, but the hope is that he'll be ready for the start of training camp.

No reason for Bears fans to panic about their tight end room

Would TEU be a good experience for Kmet and Loveland? Sure. Kmet is not perfect and still has things to work on, despite entering his sixth NFL season. And as a rookie, Loveland would clearly gain quite a bit from working with a guy like Chicago Bears legend Greg Olsen. But it's hard to blame Kmet for wanting to be with his wife, and Loveland would be unable to do much thanks to his injury.

Even without this extra bit of practice, these Bears tight ends are expected to feature prominently in head coach Ben Johnson's offense. Three months from now, they may be off to a hot enough start that no one even remembers whether they attended TEU or not.

Cole Kmet
Daniel Bartel-Imagn Images

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Pete Martuneac
PETE MARTUNEAC

A former Marine and Purdue Boilermaker, Pete has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2022 as a senior contributor on BearsTalk. He lives with his wife, two kids and loyal dog.

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