One thing to remember about this time of year is to expect the unexpected. Just when you think an organization is easy to predict with their roster decisions, they’ll throw you a curveball. The Chicago Bears are no different. They’ve made several puzzling cuts in their long history. It is why fans have become accustomed to expecting something weird from Halas Hall at some point. Perhaps that streak will continue this August. After all, GM Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus have already shown they’re not afraid to unload established names.
Who might it be this time? Bill Zimmerman of Windy City Gridiron made his thoughts clear. He’s known to have solid connections to the organization in recent years. That is why his prediction for an unexpected cut before the regular season was eye-opening.
“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 not secret Poles has been gradually erasing Ryan Pace’s fingerprint from the roster since he arrived. Less than ten names remain from the team that finished 2021. Santos is one of them. His getting cut would be a surprise, but also not.
Cairo Santos isn’t secure.
One would think he is after his 2022 season. He went 21-for-23 on field goal attempts—an excellent accuracy rate. The problems surfaced in two ways. Santos missed five extra-point attempts. He also continues to struggle from long distance. While Santos did go 4-of-5 on field goals of 50 yards or more, all of his makes were from 51 yards or shorter. Any time the Bears may have wanted to consider an opportunity from 55 or longer, they knew it was a waste of time. That lack of dimension hamstrung them too often.
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This would explain why they signed Andre Szmyt as an undrafted free agent. He had a productive career in college at Syracuse and demonstrated a leg more than capable of hitting kicks in the mid-to-high 50s. The Bears aren’t guaranteeing anything, but they’ve obviously put Cairo Santos on notice. He better bring his best to training camp. Otherwise, they might be willing to roll with the younger, cheaper guy.
