The Chicago Bears 2025 season got off to a rocky start, highlighted by Monday night’s collapse at home against Minnesota. One of the biggest storylines from that game was kicker Cairo Santos. While Santos has been one of the NFL’s more accurate kickers, concerns about his leg strength continue to surface.
On Monday, those concerns became evident when Santos failed to kick a kickoff out of the end zone while the Bears were trying to conserve the two-minute warning as an extra timeout. Despite his effort, the Vikings were able to return the ball, running precious seconds off the clock and preventing the Bears from using the two-minute warning. The Bears defense forced a three-and-out, but instead of having roughly 50 seconds to work with, Chicago was left with just 16.
Santos also missed a field goal earlier in the game, uncharacteristic of his usual reliability. In response, the Bears signed former 49ers kicker Jake Moody to the practice squad, adding competition for Santos. While competition can be healthy, it’s awkward considering Santos signed a four-year, $16 million contract extension back in December of 2023.
Bears GM Ryan Poles has had his share of missteps. Santos may be a team captain and generally reliable, but his limitations can be costly at critical moments—an issue that reflects poorly on Poles. And as for Moody, he’s not exactly a game-changer either. The Bears might be better off bringing in a kicker with a stronger leg and seeing how he performs.
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