There is a lot to unpack with what has been going on at Chicago Bears training camp.
The Bears are facing a slew of injuries that are making life tougher on the defensive side of the ball. Chicago's offense got into pads for the first time this week, and the unit was inconsistent at best.
Even with all the issues and concerns swirling around the team, the Bears' special teams appear to be in good shape. That's because kicker Cairo Santos is making it a lot easier not to worry so much about him.
Cairo Santos is giving Bears a reason to focus on other things in training camp
In the latest practice, ESPN Bears reporter Courtney Cronin shared all her observations from camp. Cronin added a quick note about what Santos did that should make more fans celebrate him instead of focusing on the negative parts of training camp.
"Cairo Santos went 6-for-6 during the field goal period and connected on kicks from 56, 50, 40 and 33 yards."
Santos had an interesting 2025 season, starting with a missed field goal and a kickoff mistake in Week 1 that put him in the doghouse with the fans right away. An injury then cost him two games, and fans nearly called for his replacement, Jake Moody, to fill the role full-time.
Once Santos returned, though, he got back on track and played well. He finished the season making 25-of-30 field goals and converted all 39 of his extra points, the first time he's done that since 2019.
Since playing in his first NFL game in 2014, Santos has moved around a bit but has mostly been a solid kicker. He enters his seventh season with the Bears, the longest he has been on a team in his career.
With some of the new storylines that have popped up in training camp, it's nice to know that Santos is in the background and doing his job well. He had a perfect day kicking the ball and hasn't drawn any attention to himself or his job on the team for now.
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Chicago can only hope that this trend continues for the rest of training camp and for the entire 2026 season. Santos has earned his job and his peace of mind while the team figures out a plan with all the injuries they have to deal with.
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