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Why are Bears keeping such tight rein on tight end Cole Kmet?

Related Topics: Mike Ditka, Cole Kmet, Chicago Bears

Greg Fiume/Getty Images

It seems the Bears don’t like tight ends. Not good ones, anyway.

They had Mike Ditka once upon a time, and maybe him being a tough, sure-handed All-Pro at that position overwhelmed their dainty offensive sensitivities. The Bears traded him to the Eagles in 1967 after a contract impasse, leading to Ditka’s statement that Bears owner George Halas ‘‘threw nickels around like manhole covers.’’

The Bears got a taste of tight end Greg Olsen’s excellence after his combined 101 receptions in 2009 and 2010.