Bears Going Low Key with This Kicker Competition

Ryan Pace doesn't want another kicking circus.

Instead, he said Tuesday he wants someone pushing current kicker Eddy Pineiro.

This was the explanation the Chicago Bears general manager gave when asked why he signed kicker Ramiz Ahmed, a former University of Nevada kicker who was a kicker at the Gary Zauner Kicking School and won a kickoff competition at a Jamie Kohl kicking camp.

"We knew we wanted to add competition," Pace said. "Competition is good for everyone and I think, you know, (special teams coordinator Chris) Tabor and his guys do a good job of going to a lot of these kicking camps."

The Bears knew of Ahmed, who made 15 of 20 at Nevada in 2018 but missed 5 of 8 from 40 yards and longer. Ahmed is on a Twitter video from a Kohl kicking camp winning a kickoff contest with a 96-yard boot, obviously wind-aided.

"We liked him coming out of college and we feel like he's gotten better like a lot of these young kickers do," Pace said "But the evaluation really took place with Tabor at the kicking camp and kind of where he is right now."

The Bears had nine kickers at camp last offseason and drew criticism nationally for the way they conducted their search in addition to some from the kickers themselves in a Sports Illustrated article printed well after the competition ended.

"Look, we love Eddy and we think his future is very bright," Pace said. "So we think competition is good for everyone.

"Don't expect the number of kickers we had in here last year but I think those two competing against each other is a really good thing."

Pineiro made 23 of 28 as a rookie, the same number made the previous year by Cody Parkey but with two fewer misses on the year.

Pineiro beat out Elliott Fry in the finals of the kicking search at training camp and in preseason.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven