Chicago Bears minicamps started with the door wide open for their kicking competition. No fewer than eight players were present at that position. GM Ryan Pace and the coaching staff planned to leave no stone unturned. For the next three days, head coach Matt Nagy and his staff did not relent on them, thinking up creative ways to put pressure on them.
This included a competition where they had one chance to make a kick at the end of practice from 43 and then 42 yards out. This with the entire team looking on. Some of them even heckling to add some fan flavor to the mix. Then on the final day, two of them had to battle back and forth with each representing the offense and defense.
The loser had to watch as their side of the ball did 25 extra up-downs. At last the dust settled following Day 3. Apparently the Bears saw all they needed to see as none of the tryout players were signed. Not only that, but two of those they had already signed were waived.
Chicago Bears minicamps narrowed competition to Chris Blewitt and Elliott Fry
It may seem a bit unusual to narrow the field so sharply after just three days. This could mean the Bears may bring in a veteran as the third option for training camp. Or the other six kickers performed poorly enough to where the coaches didn’t even want to bother with letting it drag on. For the time being, only two men remain standing.
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Former Pitt kicker Chris Blewitt and former South Carolina and AAF kicker Elliot Fry.
Pace stated that in spite of his unfortunate last name, Blewitt really stood out to them when he tried out a couple of months back. His stronger leg and improved accuracy seem to have held true since then. As for Fry, he’s quite the story. A diagnosed diabetic at age 7, he climbed his way through college, got ignored by the NFL, and went 14-of-14 in the AAF.
Now he’s one step away from becoming the new kicker for the Bears. It will be interesting to see how things play out from here on.
