9. Special teams
Last season, the Bears had major questions at kicker, which escalated into a circus of a kicking competition. Ultimately, it was Eddy Pineiro that won the job in preseason, and his rookie season was pretty solid. Pineiro connected on 23-of-28 field goals (82.1%) and 27-of-29 of extra points. Although, there were concerns with Pineiro’s ability to kick in the windy conditions at Soldier Field, and he had a concerning stretch last season where he went 3-of-7 on field goals. The Bears brought in Ramiz Ahmed to battle Pineiro for the starting job, but Pineiro is the clear favorite to win.
Chicago’s special teams remains unchanged at punter with Pat O’Donnell, who averaged 44.8 yards per punt, which ranked 26th in the NFL, including a long of 75 yards. He also had 26 punts inside the 20-yard line, which ranked 16th in the league. Long snapper Patrick Scales also returns after the Bears re-signed him to a one-year extension earlier this offseason.
Then there are the return specialists, which include some of the game’s best in kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson and punt returner Tarik Cohen. Last season, Patterson finished second in the NFL in kick-return average (29.5 yards) and led the league in kick-return yards (825), which garnered him All-Pro and Pro-Bowl nods. Not to mention, Patterson excels as a gunner. Cohen, a former All-Pro and Pro-Bowl specialist in 2018, averaged 9.2 yards per punt return in 2019, including a long of 71 yards.
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