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Bear Digest

How Cairo Santos' Leg Strength Impacts the 2026 Chicago Bears

There is a trend toward more longer field goals in the NFL and Cairo Santos is more known for accuracy, so should the Bears worry more about the bombs?
Gene Chamberlain|
Cairo Santos makes a kick against the Arizona Cardinals. Santos is 25 of 33 from 50 yards or longer.
Cairo Santos makes a kick against the Arizona Cardinals. Santos is 25 of 33 from 50 yards or longer. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

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Chicago Bears

One of the very few moves made by the Bears after their offseason work ended included cutting the kicking competition for Cairo Santos.

For this reason, it wouldn't be a shock if they picked up another kicker at some point just as camp is starting or shortly thereafter. It's not a necessity because they are dissatisfied with Santos even after a down year by his standards, but having someone else to share the kicking duties in preseason and during training camp practice helps keep a leg fresh. After all, Santos is 34 years old now and doesn't need the extra wear and tear. He's older than Robbie Gould was when the Bears unceremoniously and foolishly dumped him in 2016.

"The good thing about Cairo is, obviously, you always want to watch volume," special teams coordinator Richard Hightower said during this offseason's work. "As you (reporters) say, when you have a veteran who has been in and done it for a while. But, like, he is a constant pro. He's back at it. You can tell he's really been working.

"The ball is jumping off his leg right now, you can tell he's been really focused and he's on a mission."

What about the powerful kicker?

The kicker they cut was Gabriel Plascencia, who had given rise to hopes he could compete with their veteran kicker because he was built like a linebacker at 249 pounds, it was expected he would make field goals of 60 yards or longer routinely.

Instead, during practices in the offseason he was not as accurate as Santos, kicked it lower and Santos even made a couple longer field goals including a 60-yarder. Santos was the clear winner when they had "Augusta silence," type showdowns during offseason practices.

There has been an undercurrent among Bears fans of discontent with Santos on social media and elsewhere this past offseason. These would be fans with short memories, because less than a decade ago their situation at this position was an actual joke as they trotted in successors to playoff goat — that's goat not GOAT — Cody Parkey. It was Santos who basically solved the Bears kicking /problem and has made 88.8% of his kicks since returning to the team in 2020 after a brief earlier stint when he had injury issues.

Ironically, the kicker they originally looked to as a solution was Eddy Pineiro, and he's now second all time in kicking accuracy but has only tried about half the number of Santos. If he makes it to as many as Santos has tried, making almost 89% like he has would indeed be a feat.

However, Santos' 88% accuracy with the Bears since 2020 isn't good enough for some fans. He wasn't in the 60s parade last year when 12 of 22 field goals tried from 60 yards or longer in the NFL were made

The reality of longer kicks in the NFL

This looks like a real trend toward longer kicks and the Bears aren't really capable of being in this group. Dissatisfied fans want to see a Bears kicker booming them through from 60 and longer.

The answer here is just wait. It might happen in the future, in Indiana or in Arlington Heights or somewhere.

As long as the Bears are kicking most of their field goals both outdoors and during the second half of the season in horrendous weather/field conditions, it makes no sense to place a premium on distance over accuracy with kickers. In fact, it probably never makes sense to place a premium on distance over accuracy, but ever doing it as an outdoor cold-weather team makes little sense, unless you're the Denver Broncos and are playing a mile high in lighter air.

Anyone who was there to see Gould make a 57-yarder in Denver in 2011 realizes the difference. His kick looked like it could have been good from 65 without a problem. Matt Prater made two over 50 in the same game, including a 59-yarder.

Through last season, there had been 51 field goals made in NFL history of 60 yards or longer and 58 were made by kickers indoors, or in warm-weather conditions or by kickers at altitude.

There really are not many kickers around who make 60-yarders and if you're lucky enough to have one who is also dead-eye accurate in the clutch from 55 or less then you're extremely fortunate.

Soldier Field is the key

Prater held the Soldier Field record with a 59-yarder made in cold weather, but last year he was tied by Minnesota's Will Reichard kicking in warm weather in the opener. Santos is capable of 59 in warm weather, as well, and proves it at practice. He's not making them from 60-plus in cold at Soldier Field in the wind and neither are most other kickers.

That's why only three of the 51 kicks from 60-plus have been outdoors in the cold. And one of those in the cold was questionable, Blake Grupe's 60-yarder at Seattle last December. The temperature was 51, which hardly qualifies for frigid December conditions like the Bears have at Soldier Field.

The other cold-weather 60-plus kicks were 62 yards by Sebastian Janikowski Dec. 27, 2009 at Cleveland in 34-degree weather for the Raiders, and Rob Bironas in December of 2006 from 60 yards for the Titans at Nashville in 40-degree weather.

Evan McPherson made a 63-yarder last year in November at Cincinnati against the Patriots but the temperature was a comfortable 54 degrees.

Santos not only ranks 22nd all time in field goal accuracy, he is 10th most accurate among active NFL kickers with his 85.25%. This number includes the earlier kicks in his career when he had injury issues. Best of all, Santos is clutch in tough conditions at Soldier Field. He was infallable in December and the playoffs kicking in cold while opposing kickers faltered.

Until the Bears can come up with a better accuracy alternative, they shouldn't worry about this aspect of kicking. The longer outdoor kicks in the cold in the NFL are a myth and someone who kicks for distance but not a lot of accuracy is pretty useless at Soldier Field.

Santos has mad 76% from 50 and longer since his return to the Bears in 2020 and that's 25 of 33. This is entirely acceptable, even outstanding for someone kicking in tough conditions much of the time.

When the Bears are playing indoors at home in the future, then they can worry about a kicker who is nailing half his kicks from 60 yards or longer. At the rate they're going with the stadium deal, GM Ryan Poles and Co. don't need to worry about this until after Santos retires.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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