Bears Give Hint About Cairo Santos' Week 3 Status After Surprise Injury Update

Chicago Bears kicker Cairo Santos is dealing with a hip injury, but the team offered up a hint that the veteran is going to be fine for Week 3.

Chicago Bears place kicker Cairo Santos (8) stands on the sidelines during the second half in the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Chicago Bears threw us a bit of a curveball on Thursday after they released their injury report and kicker Cairo Santos was on it.

Santos is dealing with an injury for the first time this season. He was listed on Thursday's estimated injury report with a hip issue and was an estimated non-participant in the practice that didn't happen.

That is obviously a major cause for concern because it leaves the door open for the Bears to have to find a kicker in the middle of the week to replace him, and the results of such a situation can often lead to disaster when gameday rolls around.

However, the Bears gave us a hint that Santos is probably going to be fine for the Week 3 contest against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Bears' Cairo Santos hint

Chicago Bears placekicker Cairo Santos (8) kicks a fifty-yard field goal held by punter Tory Taylor (19) against the Minnesota Vikings during the first quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Bears made a pair of roster moves on Thursday, re-signing rookie long snapper Beau Gardner to the practice squad and releasing veteran wide receiver Scotty Miller.

Chicago also brought in a player for a tryout, former Arizona Cardinals third-round pick and defensive back Elijah Jones.

Despite those moves, the Bears did not sign a kicker, nor did they even bring one in for a tryout, which is a strong suggestion that Chicago doesn't expect Santos to miss the upcoming game.

Luckily for the Bears, they have an extra day to get Santos right with the game versus the Eagles being on Monday night, so that only increases his chances of suiting up.

Until we see some action at kicker, whether that be a signing or a tryout, we aren't concerned about Santos.

Bears' long snapper issues

Chicago Bears place kicker Cairo Santos (8) celebrates with teammates after kicking a field goal during the first half against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Santos hasn't had many opportunities for field goals so far this season after the Bears scored touchdowns at will in Week 1 before forgetting how to play offense in Week 2.

Santos has made two of his three field-goal attempts, with the lone miss coming on a blocked field goal against the Minnesota Vikings that saw poor operation.

The biggest issues were a high snap and Gardner apparently snapped the ball on the wrong count, too, which likely messed up the protection.

“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," head coach Ben Johnson said.

“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," Johnson went on to add.

The result was the Bears making a change at long snapper, with the team cutting Gardner in favor of veteran Scott Daly, who makes his return to Chicago.

There was a strong hint things were shaky with Gardner going back to the preseason, when the Bears missed a field goal in the exhibition opener against the Cleveland Browns that was also a result of poor operation with a bad snap and hold, Santos said.

We didn't love Chicago's approach to leaving the long snapper job up to two inexperienced players during training camp, but the Bears have wisely changed course with Daly.