Bear rookie tight end Cole Kmet didn’t catch a pass against the Buccaneers last week. In fact, he wasn’t even targeted.
But he still made an impression on tight ends coach Clancy Barone with a solid block on Buccaneers outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul on the Bears’ first offensive play — a jet sweep to Cordarrelle Patterson. And not just Barone.
“When the game was over I came back I had three text messages on my phone from various NFL coaches — and they were line coaches and tight end coaches,” Barone said. “I had a couple of calls on my drive home from some of my peers around the league and they were all talking about the same thing — the very first play of the game and something that will never show up in any box score.