Bears put Cairo Santos on notice with signing 49ers castoff to practice squad

After some criticism for the performance of kicker Cairo Santos as the Chicago Bears lost to the Minnesota Vikings 27-24 on Monday night, general manager Ryan Poles is sending a silent message to his kicker.

NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported that the Bears have signed former San Francisco 49ers kicker Jake Moody to the practice squad. Moody was just released by the 49ers after missing two field goals in their win against the Seattle Seahawks from 27 yards and a 36-yarder that was blocked.

Santos had his own struggles in the loss to the Vikings on Monday as he missed a 50-yard field goal to begin the fourth quarter. He also had a kickoff that did not go into the back of the end zone and was returned later in the same quarter, which prevented them from gaining more time on the clock for their last offensive drive.

Can Moody provide the type of competition that Santos needs?

The reality is that Moody has not been a great kicker in his career. His best season with field goal percentage was 84% in 2023, but he took a massive dip to just 70% last year with the 49ers.

Santos has been solid for the Bears, with three of his five seasons with over 90% of his field goals made. Last year was his worst in Chicago, where he made 84% of his field goals.

This is more of a silent reminder to Santos that they can bring in competition at any time, and Santos' job is not 100% safe. Santos is a better and more consistent kicker than Moody, so the real question is whether Moody will genuinely challenge Santos for the kicker job.

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Chicago is trying to push Santos to be better, and they certainly will need him to step up and get the job done. Fans will see how he does in Ford Field against the Detroit Lions on Sunday to see if he got the message clearly.