3 Free Agent do-overs for the Chicago Bears in 2023

Chicago Bears should have signed Brandon McManus and cut Cairo Santos

I was a little surprised by the Denver Broncos releasing veteran placekicker Brandon McManus. McManus has been a solid kicker throughout his nine-year career. When I saw that he was being waived, I immediately thought the Chicago Bears should consider taking him over current kicker Cairo Santos. It isn't that Santos isn't fairly accurate, but he just lacks a strong enough leg. When your kicker struggles to make 50-yard or more field goals, he becomes a liability.

If we look at the accuracy of both kickers, Cairo Santos has a career field goal percentage of 84.5%. In fact, last year, Santos made 91.3% of his field goals. In 116 games, Santos only has 27 attempts from 50 and beyond. Out of those 27 attempts, he has only made 14. Yuck. I want better efficiency than that if I am Ryan Poles.

Brandon McManus on the other hand has an 81.4% field goal percentage throughout his career. Last year, he only made 77.8% of his field goal attempts, but it should be noted that he also attempted 13 kicks from 50+ yards. Out of those 13, he made eight. A total of 13 attempts is three more attempts than Santos has over his three years in Chicago. He was perfect from the 40-49 range and made 10 of 13 from within the 20-39 range. In 144 games, McManus has 72 attempts from 50+. That's more than double the number of attempts Santos has throughout his entire career. Give me McManus.