Getty Kicker Cairo Santos could very well be the Bears' kicker for the first month of the 2020 season if Eddy Pineiro goes on injured reserve.
The Chicago Bears hosted a familiar face this weekend: kicker Cairo Santos worked out for the team, per NFL analyst Field Yates. Santos spent a few weeks with Chicago during the 2017 season, going 1-2 on his field goal attempts before being placed on the injured reserve list with a groin injury. Shortly after it was reported the Bears worked out Santos, insider Adam Schefter reported the team was going to sign the ex-Chiefs kicker after he clears COVID protocols.
A couple of notable tryouts/visits this weekend: the Ravens are working out TE Jordan Leggett and the Bears are hosting K Cairo Santos on a visit.
Bears are expected to sign former Chiefs’ kicker Cairo Santos after he clears Covid testing protocol Sunday, per source.
Santos entered the league as an undrafted free agent, signing with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2014. He was their starting kicker until 2017, when a groin issue landed him on injured reserve. The team waived him later that year, and he had his brief stint in a Bears uniform shortly after that. He attempted 105 field goals with the Chiefs, making 89 (that’s 84.8 percent). He made 125 of his 130 extra point attempts (96.2 percent). His career long is 53 yards.
Follow the Heavy on Bears Facebook page, where you can keep up and weigh in on all the latest Bears-related breaking news, rumors, content and more!
Cairo Santos: Early Career, Good. Recent Career … Not So Good
Santos’ numbers with the Chiefs weren’t bad; he was no All-Pro by any means, but he was certainly adequate. After he left Kansas City, however, things haven’t gone so well for the journeyman kicker.
He spent time with the Rams and the Buccaneers in 2018, and he went 14-18 on his field goal attempts that year. Santos played in five games for the Tennessee Titans in 2019, which was the worst season of his career. He went 4-9 on his field goals, making just 44.4 percent of his attempts. In Week 5 against the Buffalo Bills, Santos missed four field goals (one of which was blocked), and was cut by the team the following day. He hasn’t played since.
Will Santos Compete With Eddy Pineiro, or Be a Contingency Plan?
GettyChicago Bears kicker Eddy Pineiro. (Photo by Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images)
Are the Bears trying to replace their current kicker Eddy Pineiro, or just looking for a contingency plan? Santos is someone Bears’ head coach Matt Nagy is very familiar with. Nagy was in Kansas City the entire time Santos was, from 2014-17, so they know each other well. Nagy and the Bears need as much insurance as possible in a season with so many question marks, and they’re probably building a list of emergency contacts, so to speak, with Santos someone the coaches know well. Still, the addition of Santos makes Pineiro’s role with the team all the more intriguing.
If the team rolls with Pineiro, and he were to fall to injury or wind up on the COVID-19 reserve/list, the team will need a few options they trust to fall back on, which makes Nagy’s history with Santos an interesting factor here. The Bears already waived kicker Ramiz Ahmed, who they brought in during training camp to compete with Pineiro, but it didn’t wind up being much of a competition.
In his first season with the Bears last year, Pineiro hit 82.1 percent of his field goals and 93.1 percent of his extra point attempts, both of which can be improved upon — and Pineiro does intend to get better. He was asked by his coaches to put on weight this offseason, and he did that, going from 179 to 187 pounds. Additionally, he spent the offseason trying to prepare for the harsh elements of Soldier Field by kicking into rough Florida winds with punter Pat O’Donnell holding for him.
Pineiro also recently expressed a desire to join the likes of Kevin Butler and Robbie Gould as one of the great Bears kickers.
“It would mean a lot to me and my family to stay in Chicago,” Pineiro said last week. “I want to be a Bear for a long time and be a part of the history and join the good kickers they have had, too.”
READ NEXT: Bears QB Mitch Trubisky Talks QB Competition, Releasing His Inner ‘Dog’