Let’s not beat around the bush.
You had the same thought I did when Cairo Santos missed a 46-yard field goal on the Bears’ first drive.
So did The Athletic’s Adam Jahns:
Eddy Pineiro can be activated off IR as early as next week. Just a heads up.
— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) September 27, 2020
Place-kicker Eddy Piñeiro has spent three weeks on Injured Reserve. Thus, making him eligible to return in time to kick in Sunday’s game against the Colts. Piñeiro suffered a groin injury during camp, which led the Bears to bringing back Santos (who briefly kicked for the team in 2017). And after making all five of his kicks (3 PATs, 2 FGs) in Week 1, there was hope Santos could successfully provide a bridge to Piñeiro’s return.
Well, about that.
Santos has missed kicks in each of his last two games. And dating back to the 2017 season, Santos has made just 68.4 percent of his kicks. Having a rapport with Head Coach Matt Nagy is nice, and I imagine it was helpful in getting him a second opportunity with the Bears. However, a 22-game stretch of poor kicking is an alarming trend in the wrong direction. And with a 3-0 team heading into Week 4, the last thing Bears fans need is to be worried about their team’s kicking game. Again.
A healthy Piñeiro should supplant Santos on the active roster. From there, I can envision the Bears trying to slide Santos back onto the practice squad. Considering the recent missed kicks on his résumé, I don’t think it will be difficult to sneak him back on the taxi squad. But if the Bears are serious about having a backup kicker in the event something were to happen to Piñeiro, they should strongly consider an upgrade.