There isn't enough talk about how much Cairo Santos struggled in 2024. Two blocked kicks due to his inability to kick the ball with a high enough trajectory is all I needed to see last season to confirm my prejudice against Santos still being on the roster. At the very least, the Chicago Bears need to have a real open competition at the position this offseason.
The team did not draft a kicker in the 2025 NFL Draft, but they did add one as a UDFA. Michigan State kicker Jonathan Kim was one of 10 UDFAs who signed with the Bears shortly after the draft was completed. He is one of the players I truly hope gets a fair shot at making the roster.
When looking at Santos' stats, you'd think that I am crazy for even bringing this up. He made eight of his nine attempts of 50+ yards last season. He has definitely improved and strengthened his leg since his time in Kansas City. Over the last three years, Santos has made 19 of 22 field goals of 50+ yards. Prior to that, he was only 10 of 24 from that range. The problem is, his long last year was only 54 yards, and too often it felt like the team couldn't even attempt a field goal because they couldn't trust Santos to make it from 55 yards and beyond. Not to mention, he only made 84% of his kicks last year.
There is something to having a weapon like Brandon Aubrey, who has made 24 of 27 attempts beyond 50 yards over the last two years — a kicker who had a long of 60 yards in 2023 and 65 yards in 2024.
The Chicago Bears must give Jonathan Kim a fair shot
Kim stands 6'0" tall and weighs in over 220 pounds. His entire physique is quite different from Santos', who only stands 5'8" and weighs in less than 180 pounds. I'm not trying to say that size matters in this situation, but when your kicker consistently struggles to make field goals of 50+ yards, that is a problem. For reference, Aubrey stands 6'3" and weighs in at over 215 pounds. Shrug. Maybe size does matter.
While at Michigan State, Kim made 19 of 21 FG attempts, including 3 of 4 from beyond the 50. Kim kicked two of the top six and three of the top nine longest field goals in the Big Ten. His career long was 58 yards in 2023. He can also handle kickoff duties without a concern, making him an even better candidate to take over the kicking role this season.
Santos started making his longer kicks more often, but to do so, he had to lower the trajectory of his kicks. This is likely due to having less leg strength than the better long-distance kickers in the league. Teams have caught on to his tactics, too. His kicks are more of a line drive, and defenders have learned how to time their jumps to block them.
Last season, when their starting kicker went down with an ankle injury during training camp, the Lions turned to the UFL for help. They brought in Jake Bates, a former UFL kicker — a move that reflects Ben Johnson’s familiarity with thinking outside the box. Bates secured the kicking duties and made 26 of 29 field goals, including six of eight from 50+ yards. His longest was from 58 yards.
Now, I'm not ready to hand the kicking duties over to a UDFA, but I want to see some serious competition and hope that Jonathan Kim is more than just a camp body.
