The Chicago Bears deserve credit. After enduring the misery of life after Robbie Gould, they finally settled down their kicker position with Cairo Santos. In his first four years with the team, the Brazilian native hit 91.1% of his field goal attempts. That kind of accuracy is hard to come by in his league. However, last season was a frustrating one for him. He went 21-of-25 on field goal attempts, which is 84.0% accuracy. That is the lowest of his tenure in Chicago. One would understand if the Bears are wary of betting all their chips on the 34-year-old going into this season.
That would explain why the team brought in notable college standout Jonathan Kim as an undrafted free agent. After three years as a backup at North Carolina, he finally got an opportunity to start for Michigan State in 2023. He hit 72.2% of his field goal attempts. A year later, he made a big jump with 19-of-21 field goals made (90.5%). Most importantly, he was 11-of-12 on 40-yard or longer kicks, demonstrating a strong enough leg to connect from a distance. People observing him at rookie minicamps believe he has enough talent to at least make Santos nervous.
The Bears brought ex-Michigan State kicker Jonathan Kim into their rookie minicamp for the weekend, but my guess is that Kim sticks around through training camp as light competition before moving to the practice squad as Santos’ injury insurance.
On the rookie kicker, Hightower said: “Kim is a rookie, but he has good experience. He has six years of collegiate kicking, and some of those years are in inclement weather conditions.”
Cairo Santos has two things going for him.
First is his game-winning kick to beat the Green Bay Packers last season. That is still fresh in the minds of Bears fans. They won't be wild about the idea of getting rid of a player who just broke the longest losing streak to that team in franchise history. The other part is Richard Hightower. New head coach Ben Johnson retained Chicago's special teams coordinator. He's been a major ally of Santos during their three years together and remains a firm supporter. It would take a monumental meltdown for Cairo Santos to lose his job. Kickers can often survive well into their 30s and even 40s. The primary issue with him has always been leg strength. He's unreliable beyond 45 yards. He should be safe if the Bears are willing to live with that. On the other hand, if Kim showcases his upside well enough in camp, things could get interesting.
