The Man Who Isn't Done Kicking Big for Chicago

As Duel with Jonathan Kim looms, Bears' Cairo Santos Going All In To Keep Job

Bears kicker Cairo Santos has delivered 90% field goal accuracy seasons in three of the last four seasons.

By Clete Campbell

Windy City End Zone

"If you’re not in the right state of mind, you’re already beat.”

-- Former NFL kicker Stephen Gostkowski

The foot that could determine the Chicago Bears’ 2025 playoff fortunes never rests.

Training camp is still a month away, but Cairo Santos is still working his own daily personal offseason camp, working to strengthen his leg into a precision Howitzer field goal cannon for the Bears.

“Hora de ir trabalhar (“time to go to work”), the Brazilian tells himself in his native Portuguese.

With Bill Belichick’s famous mantra of “no days off” ringing in his ears, Santos knows he can’t afford to take a day off.

For NFL kickers fighting to keep their jobs, summer is never a day at the beach.

Sure, he has a $16 million contract running through the 2027 season. But Santos knows his job may just depend on his ability to deliver his best season yet for the Bears, who need him to prove again he’s a clutch kicker who can kick them into the postseason if needed.

As he enters his mid-30s, Santos’ leg cannon is built of solid maple, but not exactly oak tree. He’s coming off a sub-90% accuracy 2024 season where he hit 21-of-25 attempts (which would be Pro Bowl numbers in the 1980s but merely just an 84% average in today’s era of high precision kickers). His kickoff work was spotty at best.

And the Bears, who can’t afford any hiccups in their 2025 playoff plan, have purchased some low-cost State Farm-approved kicking insurance by signing free agent Michigan State kicker Jonathan Kim. The 24-year-old has a proven resume of kicking in adverse conditions, rifling for six years for the Spartans in inclement weather conditions.

“One would understand if the Bears are wary of betting all their chips on the 34-year-old going into this season,” Sports Mockery’s Erik Lambert writes. (Sounds Like Cairo Santos Has Some Legit Competition To Worry About)

Still, Santos redeemed himself in the best way, nailing a season walk-off 51-yard high-pressure winner against Green Bay in Green Bay that ended Chicago’s miserable 10-game losing streak to the Evil Cheese Empire (as many Bears fans know the Packers).

Is he still the money man who delivered three seasons of 94 percent field goal efficiency in four years from 2020-23 including a wowing 40 straight field goals? Is this still the same kicker who produced the Bears’ last playoff points in 2020?

“Cairo Santos has two things going for him,” Lambert argues. “First is his game-winning kick to beat the Green Bay Packers last season. That is still fresh in the minds of Bears fans. They won’t be wild about the idea of getting rid of a player who just broke the longest losing streak to that team in franchise history. The other part is Richard Hightower. New head coach Ben Johnson retained Chicago’s special teams coordinator.

“He’s been a major ally of Santos during their three years together and remains a firm supporter.”

Still, Hightower is a professional and is going to give Johnson his honest assessment of which kicker – Santos or Kim – gives the Bears the best chance to win every Sunday this season. And as Hightower notes. “Kim is a rookie, but he has good experience.”

“It’s worrisome knowing Chicago Bears kicker Cairo Santos’ career-long is only 55 yards, and Ryan Poles might have found his eventual replacement,” Last Word on Sports’ Isaac Zuniga writes. (https://lastwordonsports.com/nfl/2025/05/02/jonathan-kim-bears-next-success-story/)

Cairo Santos’ reliability issue isn’t on field goals within 45 yards, where he is almost as automatic as an ATM. It’s the long-range field goal attempts that the Bears usually need when they fail to win the battle of field position.

“The primary issue with him has always been leg strength,” Lambert writes. “He’s unreliable beyond 45 yards. He should be safe if the Bears are willing to live with that. On the other hand, if Kim showcases his upside well enough into camp, things could get interesting.”

For Santos, the author of 241 NFL field goals including a career-long 55-yarder whose mantra is “one kick at a time,” every kick this summer could be critical for him again being the Bears’ opening day kicker for a sixth straight season this fall.

Because Kim is going all in to win the football job of his life.

“Usually, a second kicker can be a literal camp body, someone to take some kicks off the veteran’s plate and can be on a team’s emergency call list,” The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain and Adam Jahns note. “But Michigan State’s Jonathan Kim, a reported undrafted rookie addition, could also compete with Santos. It’s not easy to kick at Soldier Field, and Santos has generally been outstanding, but we’ll see if this turns into a competition.”

Just like he told Bears Nation after his thrilling game winner against Green Bay in Week 18 last season, Santos’ work to keep his job is “for you, Bears fans.”

“Jonathan Kim has the stats and production to push Cairo Santos for the starting role,” Zuniga wrote of Kim, who converted a school-record 82 percent of his kicks at Michigan State. “With a new coaching staff in place, a “best man wins” mindset might prevail, which could open the door for Kim despite Santos’ extension. Either way, letting him slip away could be a costly mistake. Finding a reliable kicker in the NFL is no easy task, and the Bears may have landed a hidden gem in Jonathan Kim.”

Nobody has to tell that to Cairo Santos, who knows he’s got to be the best NFL kicker he’s ever been this summer if he is going to be the Bears’ kicker in 2025.