We continue to profile the 25 most important Chicago Bears players. At number 20 is kicker Cair Santos who could be a bigger key to gaining more victories.
We continue our profiles of the 25 most important Chicago Bears players for the 2024 season. Up next, at number 20, is kicker Cairo Santos. With a much-improved offense, Santos could play a bigger role in winning games for the team.
In his second time with the Chicago Bears, Santos has been a godsend. After the
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team cut Robbie Gould before the 2016 season, finding the right kicker to replace him was a daunting task. Gould spent 11 seasons as the kicker in Chicago. After his departure, they had Connor Barth, Santos, Mike Nugent, Cody Parkey, and Eddy Pineiro over the next four seasons.
Then the team brought back Santos. He put everything together and has been kicking in Chicago since 2020. In that time, he has connected 91.1 percent of his field goal attempts. He holds the franchise record for consecutive field goals made (40). That was also the third-longest streak in NFL history and the longest streak by a player kicking outdoors. From under 40 yards, he has made 65 straight field goals.
The Chicago Bears have rewarded Santos handsomely for his success. He signed a one-year deal worth $910,000 in 2020. In 2021, he re-signed for three years, $9 million. In 2023, he extended the contract for four more years at a total of $15.6 million.
For his part, Santos rewarded the Chicago Bears for their confidence in him. The extension he signed was not as lucrative for Santos as it could have been. He could have gotten more. However, the Bears signed him when other teams wouldn’t. He felt comfortable in Chicago and wanted to stay.
We’ve gotten to this point and Paul (Sheehy, his agent) said, ‘It’s your decision what you want to do. Your numbers are very good. There could be more.’ I didn’t feel like I needed it. It’s a deal that made me really happy and hopefully, the team felt the same. I am thankful. Year 10 and I’ve got four more years.
Santos has been the kicker the Bears sought after Gould. He has been as automatic as one can expect. In addition to his field goal prowess, he has also connected on 93.1 percent of his extra points. Last season, he connected on 92.1 percent of his field goals and 93.9 percent of his extra points. He struggled on extra points in 2022, hitting 84.4 percent of his attempts. That was the worst percentage in his career.
This could be Santos’ biggest season yet
The 2024 season could be Cairo Santos‘ biggest one in his career. As mentioned earlier, the Chicago Bears have a much better offense than they’ve had in quite a
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long time. The unit is good and deep this season. Chicago has an incredible trio of wide receivers, including D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen, and Rome Odunze.
The Chicago Bears will score many more points than we’ve ever seen from them. However, considering this offense will be led by a rookie, they will have a lot of close games. That is where Santos comes in. He will have many more opportunities to make huge, game-winning field goals, as well as extra points.
In 2023, Santos was excellent from beyond 50 yards. He made 7 of his 8 attempts for an 88 percent success percentage. That is an incredible feat since he made some of them at Soldier Field. The winds there can be bad, and it has a history of having bad turf. He finished the season with 136 points, ranking him fifth in the league.
Santos saw some bad football in his time with the Chicago Bears. Now the team is on the cusp of becoming a consistent winning team and he should be a big part of helping bring that to fruition.
Previous players’ ranking: #25: Tory Taylor #24: Velus Jones #23: Jack Sanborn #22: Gerald Everett #21: Kyler Gordon
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