The Chicago Bears finalized their 2025 Draft Class over the weekend and then got to work signing some of their top undrafted free agents to finish rounding out the 90-man roster heading into the summer.
HBAgency
HBAgency
HBAgency
HBAgency
One of the more underrated additions to the roster that will help bring some competition to the practice field was former Michigan State kicker Jonathan Kim.
Kim will get the chance to compete for the starting job against returning veteran Cairo Santos, and having someone to push Santos will be key after his 2024 season.
HBAgency
HBAgency
Overall, Santos was still reliable as ever making 25 of his 26 PAT attempts but went 21/25 on field goal attempts with all four missed field goals coming from 40+ yards.
Santos’ 84.0 field goal percentage was his lowest mark since returning to Chicago in 2020. A big reason why Santos struggled with longer field goals is due to his low kick trajectory, which is susceptible to getting blocked by the opposing unit.
Santos had two field goals blocked in 2024 for that very reason. The first one was against the Green Bay Packers in Week 11, and the attempt would have been a potential game-winner on the final play of the game. The second blocked attempt occurred the following week against the Minnesota Vikings during the second quarter, in a game that was ultimately decided by three points in overtime.
The lack of range from their kicker came back to bite the Bears for a third time in Week 17 when the team opted out of attempting a potential game-winning 57-yard field goal against the Seattle Seahawks. Instead, the team called a passing play that ended with an interception to lose the game.
As reliable as Santos can be in field goals under 40-50 yards, his lack of range is a major problem for a team wanting to win more games in 2025. Which is why Kim’s addition to the roster makes things interesting this summer.
During his career at Michigan State, Kim finished as the most accurate kicker in program history after nailing 32 of 39 field goal attempts. Not only is he accurate, he also has a big leg after going 11-for-12 on field goals of 40+ yards in 2024. For context, Kim’s career long so far has been 58-yards, Santos’ career-long is 55.
Kim even got his first college attempt kicking a big moment against Maryland during the 2024 season and he nailed the 37-yard field goal to win the game.
At the very least, having a guy like Kim on the field this summer will help push the 33-year-old Santos and let him know his starting position might not be secure going into the 2025 season. We’ll see who comes out on top of this kicking competition and who ends up starting for the team.