Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet just got the best news possible to kick of his bye week after his MVP-like performance in Week 6.
In the win against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Kmet had to fill in as the emergency long snapper following the team's second offensive drive after the starter, Scott Daly, was ruled out with a knee injury.
On Monday, NFL Media's Tom Pelissero reported that Daly's injury is considered week-to-week, but the specialist might not miss any time with the Bears beginning the bye week today.
It's always good news to learn that a starting player won't be out for an extended period of time, but it's even better news for Daly's backup. After the game, Kmet noted that playing long snapper isn't something he's super content with , even though he's the team's backup at the position.
"It's not like I have a ton of time on task on that, like I do at tight end, but at the end of the day that's kind of what this league is, you just have to plug-n-play guys out of position here and there and it just happened to me," Kmet explained . "I was tired enough on each of those where I'm not even thinking about it in a sense. You're just so tired on the field that, I'm gonna shoot this ball into my legs real quick and get this over with. I think that's kind of the feel. I think going in the night of the game, though, I do think about all the scenarios and the plays and then I just think, 'Gosh, I hope [Patrick] Scales or Scott [Daly] don't get hurt today'."
Even though Kmet wasn't particularly thrilled with stepping in that role during Sunday's game, he still accomplished the task really well. The most surprising thing was that Kmet didn't have to long snap for a punt during the rest of the game, which is a longer snap compared to a traditional field goal snap to the holder.
"Obviously it's pretty dramatic when you lose your short and long snapper," head coach Matt Eberflus explained on Monday . "It's an important part, scoring points and obviously getting the punts off. He practices it every Thursday, after practice he gets with those guys for the long and short snaps, and he does a good job. He's solid in there and I know he's always concerned that he has to do that and thankfully yesterday we didn't punt again after the injury. So, we were good. He was good in there and my hats off to him."
Daly won't be the only player the Bears will be hoping to get back from injury following the bye week. Defensive backs Kyler Gordon (hamstring), Jaquan Brisker (concussion), Terell Smith (hip) and Tyrique Stevenson (calf) were all out or left the game in Week 5 along with defensive tackle Zacch Pickens (groin).
"Because we have the bye week, we have some time and we hope those guys heal and get the rehab they need to get back in there as soon as possible," Eberflus said.
The bye week certainly came at the right time for the Bears.
Related: Caleb Williams gets rewarded for his dominant performance based on the Bears' top PFF grades from Week 6
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