The Chicago Bears appear to be ready to place Eddy Pineiro on the IR
The Chicago Bears released Cairo Santos, which initially gave fans a relief that Eddy Pineiro may be ready to kick for Week One. However, in a turn, the reports came out that while Santos was let go, they told him not to go far.
They may bring him back after players head to the IR.
The #Bears released veteran kicker Cairo Santos, but he could be back on the roster in the coming days, per source.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 5, 2020
As teams make short-term IR moves and other post-cutdown adjustments, roster spots free up. Santos signed recently and has been competing with Eddy Pineiro.
This seems to be a direct reference to Eddy Pineiro. Pineiro has not kicked all offseason with a groin issue. However, if the Bears want to place him on the IR, they have to keep him on the initial 53-man roster. Then, they can move him to IR, and re-sign Santos.
They likely signed Santos to get him ready and let him know this plan. When they released Santos today, they told him they will be calling him back soon.
The new IR rules allow you to bring as many players off of the IR as you want. It typically had been one or two players, but with the new CBA and COVID-19 protocols, there are unlimited IR moves.
Also, the new rules allow for only three weeks to be missed with an IR designation. This means that the Bears could place Pineiro on the IR, and get him back by Week four. They used to lose a player for half of the season when they placed him on IR.
Pineiro seems to be too injured to kick week one, however, he does not seem injured enough that the Bears expect him to miss the year, or even half of it. They will keep him on the 53-man, move him to the IR, and the best case will be a week four return. He will wait to see if this the move that is being projected.