Cairo Santos deserves more credit for what he’s done since arriving in the Windy City.
Cairo Santos is a very good kicker. He’s got a shiny new record to show for it.
With a 54-yard field goal made today, Santos now has the most 50+ yard field goals in franchise history (24). Not too shabby for a kicker with a “weak leg”, eh?
The Cairo Santos disrespect has honestly never made sense to me. You would think he’s got a 60% career field goal percentage if you gauged the knee-jerk Twitter reactions thrown his way. He doesn’t, though. He’s the most accurate kicker in franchise history with an 88.2% hit rate. His career field goal percentage is just a bit lower at 85.2%.
Would it be nice to have a kicker who has a chance to hit a kick from 60+ yards? Sure. It’s also nice to have one who can consistently hit the ones that are within his range. I’m more than comfortable moving forward with a kicker who can hit from 54 yards and nail a game-winner from 48 yards in a less-than-friendly environment. The operation didn’t exactly go off without a hitch, either..
Santos hit it anyway. He also hit three other kicks today. I know he pulled one left from 45 yards out, but expecting perfection is naive. The Bears’ history when it comes to the kicker position has been far from perfect.
Robbie Gould is unanimously considered the best kicker in franchise history. He previously held the record for most 50+ yard field goals. It took him 11 years to get 23 of them. It took Santos just over five and a half seasons to beat his mark.
Ironically, Gould is the perfect example of why giving up on a kicker too soon can be a risky proposition. They released him a week before the 2016 season began after it looked like he had lost his touch (he missed two extra points in the preseason and had a few costly misses in the ’15 season). Gould quickly proved that was far from the case, as he continued to play at a high level for much of the next seven seasons.
The grass is not always greener. The Bears found that out the hard way. They could find a Cairo Santos replacement.. if they want to risk re-entering the kicker purgatory they were in from 2016 to 2020, when six different kickers attempted a field goal for Chicago (with countless others being brought in for workouts).
I know some have been clamoring to get an extended look at Jake Moody after he went 9/10 on field goals against the Commanders (when he hit a game-winner of his own) and Saints. However, I think that move would be ill-advised. I’m eternally grateful for that performance and impressed with how well he played while being a late addition to the roster that week. Still, his resume is not impressive enough to move on from Santos. Not for someone with a 76.1% career field goal percentage and well-documented consistency issues from his time in San Francisco.
Is Santos perfect? No. Is he replaceable? Not in the slightest. He’s come up big in far too many clutch moments.
I personally hope Santos finishes his career in Chicago.
