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Bears TE Jimmy Graham off reserve/COVID-19 list in time to play SteelersJason Lieseron November 1, 2021 at 7:44 pm

Jimmy Graham has one catch for 11 yards this season. | Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

Graham was out for the losses to the Buccaneers and 49ers.

If the Bears have big plans for tight end Jimmy Graham, now is the time to unveil them. Graham came off the reserve/COVID-19 list Monday after missing two games and will be available against the Steelers.

Graham hasn’t been used much despite being one of the Bears’ most expensive players. He is essentially getting $10 million this season — some of the money has been deferred for salary-cap purposes — and has played just 22% of the snaps.

During an offseason in which they cut left tackle Charles Leno and cornerback Kyle Fuller, the Bears kept Graham believing he’d be a vital asset in the red zone and on third downs. Instead, he has been targeted three times and his lone catch was an 11-yarder in the season opener.

Signing Graham, who turns 35 this month, to a two-year, $16 million contract raised eyebrows throughout the NFL in 2020.

However, it turned out to be a reasonably wise investment in his first season. Graham was sixth in the league in red-zone catches (13) and finished with 50 catches for 456 yards and eight touchdowns. That was better overall than all of the Bears’ tight ends combined in 2019, and Graham tied Greg Olsen’s team record for touchdown catches in a season.

The more Cole Kmet has progressed, the harder it has been for Graham to hang on to playing time. Kmet is the Bears’ third-most targeted player at 36 passes and has caught 22 for 197 yards while playing 84% of the snaps.