Tag: Cairo Santos

See which 4 practice squad players the Bears chose to protect this week

One of the new practice-squad changes this season is that teams can choose to protect four players from being lured away by another team.

One of the new practice-squad changes this season is that teams can choose to protect four players on a weekly basis from being lured away by another team.

The Chicago Bears have designated those four players for the Week 1 game against the Detroit Lions. The Bears have decided to protect kicker Cairo Santos, quarterback Tyler Bray, running back Artavis Pierce and offensive lineman Jamon Brown.

Considering the Bears just placed kicker Eddy Pineiro on injured reserve — from which he can return, at the earliest, Week 4 against the Indianapolis Colts — protecting Santos was a no-brainer. Now, Santos will be kicking for the Bears for the next three weeks.

The Bears are also playing it safe at the running back position, in deciding to protect Pierce. Which is smart considering David Montgomery’s status is up in the air following a groin injury suffered in training camp a couple of weeks ago.

Apparently Chicago believes some teams might be tempted to poach Bray from their practice squad. Bray has served as the Bears’ third-string quarterback since Matt Nagy arrived in Chicago.

Then there’s Brown, who was released by the Atlanta Falcons last month and signed to Chicago’s practice squad this week.

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Bears kicker Eddy Pineiro placed on IR, Cairo Santos will start vs. Lions

Eddy Pineiro was placed on IR with a groin injury, and Cairo Santos will be Chicago’s kicker for the first three weeks of the season.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Chicago Bears have a kicker problem. Only this wasn’t production-related. Chicago, we’ve got an injury problem.

The Bears officially placed kicker Eddy Pineiro on injured reserve Monday. The move doesn’t come as a surprise given Pineiro hasn’t practiced during camp after sustaining a groin injury.

Chicago brought in former Kansas City Chiefs and Bears kicker Cairo Santos as insurance in case Pineiro wasn’t able to go. Now, Santos, who was on the practice squad, has been elevated to the active roster and will get the start against the Detroit Lions in Week 1.

Under the new rules for the 2020 season, Pineiro will be eligible to return in Week 4. Which means Santos will be Chicago’s kicker for the first three games against the Lions, New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons.

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Bears release K Cairo Santos, could be brought back in coming days

The Bears released veteran K Cairo Santos, which came as a surprise given the uncertainty surrounding Eddy Pineiro’s status for Week 1.

The Chicago Bears began trimming their roster to 53 players on Saturday, which included one notable name. The Bears released veteran kicker Cairo Santos to bring their roster to 71 players.

The move came as a surprise given the uncertainty surrounding kicker Eddy Pineiro’s status for Week 1. Pineiro has been battling a groin injury, and he wasn’t seen kicking during the two-week window where media were allowed to watch practice.

But according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the Bears could bring Santos back on the roster in the coming days should Pineiro not be good to go against Detroit next Sunday.

Bears coach Matt Nagy told reporters during training camp that the plan was to carry two kickers, especially as Pineiro’s status remains up in the air.

“I have a history with Cairo in Kansas City,” Nagy said. “I’ve seen him make a lot of kicks, so there’s a comfort level there. … When Eddy feels like he’s ready to get out there and start kicking again, that’s what we’re going to do. Now if it gets to a point where we feel like he’s not ready, then we feel comfortable with Cairo being our kicker in Week 1 if that’s the case. We’ve just gotta see.”

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Bears sign K Cairo Santos, WR Alex Wesley

The Chicago Bears announced some roster moves Monday, including the additions of K Cairo Santos and WR Alex Wesley.

The Chicago Bears announced some roster moves Monday, including the signing of kicker Cairo Santos. Santos, who played for the Bears in two games back in 2017, converted 4-of-5 field goals during that span before suffering a season-ending groin injury.

Most recently, Santos started the season with the Tennessee Titans, but he was released after he went 0-for-4 in a Week 5 loss to the Buffalo Bills. In his six-year career, Santos has completed 108-of-134 field goals, good for 80.6 percent.

But it doesn’t sound like Santos’ addition is competition-related. It’s more of an insurance policy for kicker Eddy Pineiro, who’s nursing a groin injury right now.

“(Pineiro) does have a little bit of a groin [injury] that he’s dealing with right now,” Nagy told reporters Sunday.

The Bears also signed wide receiver Alex Wesley, who returns for his second stint with the team within the last month. Wesley spent the final two weeks of the 2019 season on Chicago’s practice squad before he signed a reserve/futures contract in late December. Wesley was waived July 27 as part of roster cut-downs.

Chicago also placed tight end Darion Clark on injured reserve and released former Green Bay Packers receiver Trevor Davis.

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Bears hosting kicker Cairo Santos on a visit this weekend

Chicago has bigger concerns than kicker with Eddy Pineiro entering Year 2. But they’re hosting a familiar face in Cairo Santos this weekend.

It’s been pretty quiet on the kicker front for the Chicago Bears. After releasing Ramiz Ahmed earlier in training camp, that left Eddy Pineiro as the only kicker left on the roster. Which was anticipated all along.

Interestingly enough, Pineiro has yet to attempt a field goal during practice since the media was allowed to attend Monday, at least. It’s a far cry from last camp, where the kicker battle was front and center between Pineiro and Elliott Fry.

Simply put, Matt Nagy has bigger concerns than kicker.

That hasn’t stopped the Bears from doing some homework on kickers, as this season will be unlike anything with the COVID-19 pandemic. Chicago needs a contingency plan in place should Pineiro not be able to go.

The Bears are hosting kicker Cairo Santos on a visit this weekend.

And in case that name rings a bell, it should. Although you might remember him as “Carlos Santos,” after a blunder by former Bears coach John Fox.

Santos was briefly on the Bears during the 2017 season, where he played in just two games. He missed his first field goal attempt with Chicago — a 54-yarder against the Philadelphia Eagles. He finished his stint with the Bears 1-of-2 on field goals and 2-for-2 on extra points.

Santos was placed on injured reserve on Dec. 4 after injuring his groin during pregame warmups in Week 13 against the San Francisco 49ers. Now, he’s back in Chicago for a visit.

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The Titans haven’t made a field goal since Week 13

It’s been a hot minute since the Tennessee Titans have drilled a field goal through the uprights — and even longer since the team has attempted one.

It’s been a hot minute since the Tennessee Titans have drilled a field goal through the uprights — and even longer since the team has attempted one.

The Titans haven’t attempted a field goal since Dec. 15’s 24-21 loss to the division rival Houston Texans, and haven’t made one since the team’s 31-17 home win over the Indianapolis Colts in Nissan Stadium in Week 13.

Tennessee is 8-of-18 on field goal attempts in the 2019 season, on pace for the worst season kicking since the 1983 Buffalo Bills made 42.3% of their kicks.

The Titans have found success in the red zone though, and are 11-for-11 in those situations over the past four games.

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It’s been a tumultuous season for the team at placekicker, starting the year out with Cairo Santos and replacing him with Cody Parkey toward the middle of the season.

The Titans were expected to see improvement with Ryan Succop returning  against the Carolina Panthers, but it’s clear Succop wasn’t at full capacity as he tried to play through the season, and Greg Joseph assumed his place in the second-to-last game of 2019 against the New Orleans Saints.

Tennessee will look to stay dominant on offense as it prepares to face the Kansas City Chiefs at 2:05 p.m. CST on Sunday in Arrowhead Stadium.

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Which type of role will K Ryan Santoso play for the Titans?

The Tennessee Titans recently added a new kicker in Ryan Santoso, and not much is known about exactly how the team will utilize him.

The Tennessee Titans recently added a new kicker in Ryan Santoso, and not much is known about exactly how the team will utilize him.

About as much as me know about Santoso at this point is that his name sounds like a hybrid between Ryan Succop and former Titans kicker Cairo Santos — but that doesn’t give us any information as to which role he’ll play.

The 6-foot-5, 258-pounder said himself earlier in the week that one of his biggest strengths is his leg, so it will be interesting to see if he gets some action on kickoffs moving forward in Nashville.

Succop missed all three of his field goal attempts in his return against the Carolina Panthers, but was 6-for-6 in extra-point tries in the Titans’ 42-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars last week in Nissan Stadium.

The Titans will keep both kickers on the roster ahead of the weekend contest, so we’ll get an answer soon as to what Santoso will contribute to the squad, and how they’ll go about that.

Santoso played college ball at Minnesota, successful on 29-of-39 field goal attempts, with a career-long of 52 yards.

He also was good for 76-of-77 point-after attempts, and kicked off 168 times while racking up 80 touchbacks. 46 of his punts were pinned inside the 20.

Since Minnesota, Santoso has spent a pair of preseasons with the Detroit Lions, and also saw time with the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes.

Santoso also punted 144 times and averaged 41.8 yards (fourth-best in school history). He placed 46 punts inside the 20 and had a career long of 68 yards in 2017

The Titans and Colts are set to kick off at noon CT on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium.

6 free-agent kickers Colts could consider signing

Some options for the Colts if they are looking for a kicker.

The Indianapolis Colts are heading into Week 11, and there are some questions as to whether veteran kicker Adam Vinatieri will be with the team by season’s end.

It’s clear the Colts are evaluating the position as it’s been reported they are working out a handful of kickers Monday—marking this the second time this season they have brought in a group of free-agent kickers.

While it isn’t clear if the Colts want to move on from Vinatieri, who has missed 11 kicks in nine games, there is still the chance they make a move if they feel it will help them stay in the playoff race.

Here are six free-agent kickers the Colts could consider signing:

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Cole Hedlund

A familiar face with the Colts, Hedlund signed with Indy as an undrafted free agent following the 2019 NFL Draft out of North Texas. The rookie was impressive in his preseason with the Colts as he made six of eight field-goal attempts and was perfect on his three extra-point attempts.

Hedlund might not have the biggest boot in the world, but the Colts need accuracy more than they need distance, especially with how often they a privy in going for it on fourth down.

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