Bears Cut Struggling Rookie in Favor of Reunion With Veteran Long Snapper Among 4 Roster Moves

After rookie Beau Gardner struggled with snaps in Week 2, the Chicago Bears are making a change at long snapper.

Chicago Bears long snapper Scott Daly (46) reacts after a field goal by kicker Cairo Santos (not pictured) against the Cincinnati Bengals during the second quarter at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Chicago Bears are making a change at long snapper.

The team announced on Tuesday that it is releasing rookie long snapper Beau Gardner. Taking his spot is veteran long snapper Scott Daly, who the Bears have signed off the New Orleans Saints' practice squad.

Along with those two moves, the Bears also released offensive lineman Kyle Hergel from the practice squad and replaced him with defensive back Nick McCloud.

The Bears are already quite familiar with Daly, who was with the team for two seasons from 2024 through 2025. Daly appeared in all 34 games in that span before Chicago let him walk in free agency in 2026.

Daly has been with multiple teams this year already. He first signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in May, got cut by them in August, and then latched on with the Green Bay Packers, who signed him to the practice squad early this month.

Dally only lasted a few weeks in Green Bay before he was released. He then signed to the Saints' practice squad and appeared in the Week 2 contest with New Orleans before he was poached on Tuesday.

Now, Daly will assume the long snapper duties after the much-needed change by Chicago.

What happened to Beau Gardner?

A detailed view of a Chicago Bears helmet before the game against Carolina Panthers during pregame warmups at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

An undrafted free-agent signing of Chicago after the draft, Gardner had some issues with snaps going back to the preseason.

Cairo Santos missed a field goal in preseason Week 1 that he attributed to a high snap and a bad hold, but Santos brushed it off a bit at the time because the Bears were rotating long snappers in training camp.

But that issue reared its ugly head in Week 2, when Gardner was guilty of a few bad snaps on field goals against the Minnesota Vikings, with one contributing to a blocked kick.

“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. No. 2 was right off the edge," Bears head coach Ben Johnson explained.

“Something we addressed on the sideline and we weren’t able to get corrected the second time, so certainly in a race to get that right."

Along with the bad snaps, Gardner apparently didn't snap the ball on the right count on the blocked field goal, per CHGO Bears' Adam Hoge.

The failed experiment

Chicago Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Bears' approach at long snapper this offseason was a roll of the dice to begin with.

Chicago had a competition between Gardner, a rookie, and Luke Elkin, a second-year player who had never snapped in a regular season game.

It was a bit perplexing why the Bears didn't have a veteran in training camp to offer more competition, something we touched on before camp began, and clearly that was the wrong decision.

But, better late than never and the Bears have realized the error in their ways and will hope that Daly can put the long snapper issues to bed for good.