This established Chicago Bear is put on notice

After the Chicago Bears fired general manager Ryan Pace following a 6-11 finish in 2021, new GM Ryan Poles vowed to turn the organization around. He seemed to believe the best way to do that was by wiping the slate clean, jettisoning most of the players from the Pace era.

Another name could soon be added to the list of departures, Bill Zimmerman of Windy City Gridiron predicted:

“One significant player from the Ryan Pace regime will be cut prior to the start of the season, and I’m going with Cairo Santos.”

It’s no secret that Soldier Field, the Bears' home stadium, is one of the more difficult stadiums to kick in – Chicago is called the Windy City for a reason, after all. Despite often-adverse home conditions, Santos was as close to a sure thing as one could get last season on field goals, making 21-of-23 attempts. 

However, the 31-year-old kicker missed five extra points and didn't make a field goal beyond 51 yards. 

In a move that seemed at first to have the purpose of igniting a training camp competition, the Bears signed kicker Andre Szmyt as an undrafted free agent on May 4. It appears Szmyt’s signing may be more than just a warning for Santos, though. The Syracuse product won the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s best kicker in 2018 and has shown an ability to convert long field-goal attempts.

Perhaps most importantly for Chicago, Szmyt made all 40 of his PAT attempts last season at Syracuse. His attempts came from the two-yard line (the college distance) rather than the 15-yard line (the NFL distance). But he made all his extra points and that is what counts. 

Beyond his kicking prowess, Szmyt is younger (24) and more cost-effective than Santos. His three-year contract starts at just over $750K this season, far more cheap than Santos’ $4.5 million cap hit. 

Although Santos – an 11-year NFL veteran – was among the best in the league at field-goal kicking last season, it’s safe to say he’s on notice.