The Chicago Bears have spent the offseason overhauling their roster with veterans and rookies. But it’s the addition of undrafted rookie kicker Andre Szmyt that has caused plenty of speculation about veteran Cairo Santos’s future.
Santos has been a reliable kicker since joining the Bears in 2020. But last season, Santos struggled at times with extra points, missing five in 2022. Still, Santos remains one of the NFL’s most accurate kickers, connecting on 91.7% of his field goals (seventh in the league).
Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower indicated that Santos’ job is all but safe, if he plays up to his high standards.
“Cairo Santos finished like fifth in the NFL in kicking field goals,” Hightower said, via NBC Sports Chicago. “So I mean if you call that struggling, fifth in the NFL in field goals… I understand the extra point question and he fixed that towards the end. I mean a lot of people would kill to have a top-five kicker.”
As for Szmyt, the Bears have always preached the importance of competition at all positions, and Hightower indicated as much.
“Competition’s always good,” Hightower said. “Having more than one leg in camp is always good. What I like about Andre the most is the fact that he’s a really really good player, a really good, quick ball-rise, strike, elevation. I like the fact that he’s got that one-track mind so he has the mental toughness and the fortitude to play that position. So it’s good. Working with him, just seeing him, and hopefully we can help him develop and be a player and help him contribute to the team, feed his family long-term. That’s what our job as coaches is, is to develop them while they’re here.”
While Santos will likely be Chicago’s starting kicker come Week 1, the kicker competition between him and Szmyt will certainly be something to monitor during the summer.
