The Chicago Bears scored a franchise opening-week record 59 points in a Week 1 win over the Carolina Panthers. But last Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings was a different story.
The Bears scraped together only three points at Soldoer Field against Minnesota, and their frustrations included a signifiant mistake by a rookie that coach Ben Johnson saw as crucial enough to call put publicly after the game — and to cut that rookie, long snapper Beau Gardner, just two days later.
On Thursday, before taking on the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football in Week 3, the Bears made a surprising move.
Chicago signed Gardner back, adding the 24-year-old to their practice squad, two days after cutting him from the 53-man roster. Wide receiver Scotty Miller was dropped from the practice squad to open the spot, according to the Bears communications department.
But given Johnson’s obvious dissatisfaction with Gardner, why bring him back?
Gardner beat out Luke Elkin for the job in training camp. The rookie then uncorked sailing high snaps in Week 1 against Carolina and again in Week 2 against Minnesota, according to Yardbarker‘s coverage of the move.
Why the Chicago Bears Waived Beau Gardner
“The operation was not clean. A high snap didn’t help. That first field goal was a warning shot as far as I’m concerned,” Johnson said after the Vikings game, placing blame squarely on Gardner, as quoted by SI‘s Mike Moraitis.
Johnson was talking about the Vikings game, when a snap contributed to a blocked kick. Kicker Cairo Santos had already blamed a preseason miss on a high snap and a poor hold, according to SI.
The Bears replaced Gardner on Tuesday with Scott Daly, a 32-year-old Downers Grove South graduate who played all 34 games at long snapper for Chicago in 2024 and 2025. The team let him leave in free agency this spring, then brought him back from the New Orleans Saints‘ practice squad, according to the Daily Herald.
Chicago’s transaction announcement listed no injury designation for either snapper, according to the Chicago Bears transaction notice.
The move was about results. Gardner’s lower salary had saved the Bears less than $500,000 against the cap.
Daly’s route back was a winding one. He signed with Tampa Bay in May, got cut in August, landed on the Green Bay Packers‘ practice squad and then joined the Saints.
Teams typically carry one long snapper on the active roster, according to Windy City Gridiron. A practice squad deal keeps Gardner in the building without taking up a spot among the 53.
| CHICAGO BEARS — 2026 SCHEDULE | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WK | Date | Opponent | H/A | Time / Result | TV / W-L |
| 1 | Sun, Sep 13 | @ Carolina Panthers | Away | W 59-37 | 1-0 |
| 2 | Sun, Sep 20 | Minnesota Vikings | Home | L 9-3 | 1-1 |
| 3 | Mon, Sep 28 | Philadelphia Eagles | Home | 5:15 PM | ESPN / ABC |
| 4 | Sun, Oct 4 | New York Jets | Home | 10:00 AM | FOX |
| 5 | Sun, Oct 11 | @ Green Bay Packers | Away | 1:25 PM | FOX |
| 6 | Sun, Oct 18 | @ Atlanta Falcons | Away | 10:00 AM | FOX |
| 7 | Thu, Oct 22 | New England Patriots | Home | 5:15 PM | Prime Video |
| 8 | Mon, Nov 2 | @ Seattle Seahawks | Away | 5:15 PM | ESPN |
| 9 | Sun, Nov 8 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Home | 5:20 PM | NBC |
| WK 10 — BYE WEEK | |||||
| 11 | Sun, Nov 22 | New Orleans Saints | Home | 10:00 AM | FOX |
| 12 | Thu, Nov 26 | @ Detroit Lions | Away | 10:00 AM | CBS |
| 13 | Sun, Dec 6 | Jacksonville Jaguars | Home | 10:00 AM | FOX |
| 14 | Sun, Dec 13 | @ Miami Dolphins | Away | 10:00 AM | CBS |
| 15 | Sat, Dec 19 | @ Buffalo Bills | Away | 5:20 PM | CBS |
| 16 | Fri, Dec 25 | Green Bay Packers | Home | 10:00 AM | Netflix |
| 17 | Sun, Jan 3 | Detroit Lions | Home | 1:25 PM | FOX |
| 18 | TBD — Flex Game | @ Minnesota Vikings | Away | TBD | TBD |
| All times Eastern. Home games at Soldier Field, Chicago, IL. Bye in Week 10. Week 18 is a flex game — date and broadcast TBD. | |||||
Beau Gardner’s Path to the Chicago Bears
Gardner was born Dec. 26, 2001, in San Francisco and attended St. Ignatius College Prep, where he played on the offensive and defensive lines and also played lacrosse, according to his player biography.
He spent four seasons at UCLA, taking over as the full-time snapper in 2023. Then he transferred to Georgia, where he handled every long-snapping rep in 2024 and 2025.
Coaches named him first-team All-SEC both years. He was a Patrick Mannelly Award finalist in 2024 and won the award as the nation’s top college long snapper in 2025, according to Georgia Athletics.
He also earned first-team All-American honors in 2025, according to a Yahoo Sports roster profile.
At 6-foot-5 and 249 pounds, Gardner drew interest from special teams coaches around the league because of his size. Nobody claimed him off waivers.
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