Matt Nagy won’t come right out and say it, but anybody who can read facial expressions can tell the Chicago Bears head coach is getting fed up with his kicker situation. His frustrations with Eddy Pineiro are evident. Aside from missing some crucial kicks last season, the kid also struggled with injuries. A reality that carried into 2020 as Pineiro continues to deal with a groin issue. This is why the team went out and signed veteran Cairo Santos.
The idea is he’ll be an emergency option in case Pineiro can’t go or can’t stay healthy this year. Odds are he’ll stay on the expanded practice squad. Nagy has prior connections to Santos and seemed comfortable with the addition. Should he be though? Santos hit on just 44% of his field goal attempts in 2019, going 4-of-9 with the Tennessee Titans. His career average is 80.6%.
What exactly about the guy says “reliable” to this Bears coaching staff? Perhaps they felt a better, or at least more intriguing options weren’t available. Well, that seems to have changed. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made alterations to their own kicking position, going with veteran Ryan Succop over former 5th round Matt Gay.
While a risk in some aspects, this is a kid the Bears need to look at.
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Matt Gay is a far better investment than Cairo Santos
It’s an unfortunate turn of events for Gay. He was arguably the best kicker of the 2019 college class. A big guy with a powerful right leg who could hit kicks from 50+ yards with regularity. Unfortunately, two things pretty much ruined his time in Tampa. One was a missed 34-yard field goal that cost them a win last-second win against the Giants. The other was missing five of his final eight field goal attempts of the season.
Such a shame too. Prior to that three-game stretch, he held a respectable 88.9% accurate rate on his field goals. Something just went awry and he wasn’t able to pull the nose up. Now he’s out of a job. Does this make him a risk? Absolutely. At the same time, his level of talent makes that risk worth it. He has the sort of leg that could thrive at Soldier Field.
Spending some time on the practice squad behind Pineiro could allow him to settle his nerves. If that happens, he has limitless potential.
