Bears release kicker Cairo Santos

Cairo Santos‘ time in Chicago didn’t last long. Just a couple of weeks after signing with the Bears, the veteran kicker has been informed of his release, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.

That being said, that doesn’t mean Santos won’t end up kicking for the team. Kicker Eddy Pineiro has been sidelined by a groin injury, and Biggs writes the team just wanted to have him make the initial 53 so he wouldn’t have to be lost for the season by going on injured reserve. Biggs doesn’t think Pineiro will be ready to kick Week 1, and he thinks the plan might be to re-sign Santos after the weekend and have him kick against Detroit.

Kicking has been a sore spot for the Bears the last few years, and it looks like things are up in the air yet again. Santos was the Chiefs’ kicker from 2014-17, but was replaced following an injury and has bounced around the league since. He spent a couple of weeks with Chicago toward the end of the 2017 season, so there’s plenty of familiarity here.