Kicker is far from the biggest concern for the Chicago Bears this offseason, which depending on how you look at it, is a welcome change. Still, that hasn’t stopped general manager Ryan Pace from bringing in competition at all positions, including kicker.
The Bears signed former Nevada kicker Ramiz Ahmed to a one-year deal on Friday, where he’ll battle Eddy Pineiro for the starting kicker job.
Let’s get to know the Bears’ newest kicker:
1. He’s competition for kicker Eddy Pineiro
The addition of Ahmed signals competition for Pineiro, who had a decent rookie season. But don’t worry, this competition won’t be as extensive as last offseason. Ahmed doesn’t have professional experience — and he last kicked for Nevada as a senior in 2018 — but he’ll serve to challenge Pineiro.
The Bears are determined to utilize competition this season to get the best out of a roster that, after contributing to a 12-4 season in 2018, dropped in production with a 8-8 year in 2019. While Pineiro wasn’t without his struggles — he had a rough streak where he went 3-of-7 on field goals — he had an overall productive season, connecting on 23-of-28 (82.1%) of field goals.