The Chicago Bears presented Connor Barth with two challengers, and neither put up much of a fight against the veteran kicker.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets the Bears will release kicked Roberto Aguayo, meaning Barth – who lost the kicking competition to Aguayo last year in Tampa Bay – is lined up to start 2017 as Chicago’s top kicker. Barth didn’t miss a kick upon Aguayo’s arrival, but struggled in his first season with the Bears. After watching Robbie Gould’s 11-year career come to an end, the Bears watched his replacement make less than 80 percent of his field goal attempts for the first time since 2009. From 2010 to 2015, Barth connected on 86.5 percent of his attempted field goals. Chicago hopes Barth recaptures the magic that made him one of the most accurate kickers during that six-year stretch.
As for Aguayo, it’s been a rough summer for the second-year kicker. Aguayo was cut from Buccaneers camp, claimed off waivers by the Bears, and didn’t do much with his opportunity. The three-time All-American at Florida State made a poor first impression in Chicago with a missed field goal on his first try in the Bears’ preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals. Aguayo was later called out by head coach John Fox for a bad practice, which is unheard of and unlikely to happen again in a Fox-led camp.
For an updated list of the Bears’ cuts, we’re updating our tracker here.