4 options for Chicago Bears to replace kicker Cairo Santos

The Chicago Bears cannot continue to risk losing close games due to an extremely limited kicker.

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Let the 2018 Chicago Bears, whose promising season ended on the infamous 'double-doink' field goal miss, serve as a cautionary tale to the 2025 team: it's always better to move on from a kicker too soon than too late. Cairo Santos, for as good as he's been in stretches in the past, has proven to be a liability over the past 12 months.

For one thing, Santos has arguably the weakest leg in the league. His career long is 55 yards on his best day and that one came inside a dome. In a day and age when kickers are routinely making field goals of 60 yards or more (Jacksonville's Cam Little even nailed a 70-yarder in the preseason), that's unacceptable and has led to multiple blocked kicks.

He also suffers from erratic accuracy, as displayed in Chicago's 27-24 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1. His first attempt barely made it between the goalposts, and his second from 50 yards wasn't even close. This disastrous performance earned him a spot in the 'loser' category in the winners and losers from the Bears' meltdown.

In short, the Bears can't afford to continue with a liability at kicker. Santos is just not good enough and should be released, especially when there's no less than four kickers available who could roll off the couch and provide an immediate upgrade.

1. Michael Badgley

This would be a reunion of two sorts. Badgley has played for the Bears before, playing one game in 2022 and connecting on all four of his field goal attempts. Then he went to Detroit where he spent two seasons with Bears head coach Ben Johnson.

Badgley has plenty of experience, including playoff games, and has a career long of 59 yards. Still not great, but better than Santos and he's an available free agent.

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2. Matt Prater

Prater will remain with the Bills for at least three more games while their usual kicker, Tyler Bass, recovers from injury, but will likely be available then. The 41-year-old has multiple field goals of more than 60 yards in his career and just went viral for his heroics on Sunday. He'd be the perfect stopgap measure for the 2025 season.

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3. Eddy Pineiro

Another reunion candidate for the Bears. Pineiro played with Chicago in 2019 but just for one season in which he struggled. He did show improvement across three years with the Carolina Panthers, however, and could be considered more reliable than Santos has been of late.

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4. Dominic Zvada

If the Bears decide they can't move on from Santos midseason, the 2026 NFL draft may be their best bet for a new kicker. Michigan's Dominic Zvada has had an excellent college career, connecting on 90% of his field goal attempts beyond 50 yards and is 25-for-27 as a Wolverine.

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