Cairo Santos Jake Moody Bears News Bears Roster Moves
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Bears kicker Cairo Santos.
The Chicago Bears are signing another placekicker after veteran Cairo Santos’ rough start to the 2025 season, but not one that inspires much confidence.
According to Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz, the Bears are signing former San Francisco 49ers third-round pick Jake Moody on Friday to their practice squad, giving them a new kicking option to consider for elevation in Week 2’s game at the Detroit Lions.
Moody is a far younger kicker than Santos, but he has not experienced much success since coming into the league as the No. 99 overall pick in 2023. In 32 games for the 49ers, he made fewer than three-fourths of his field goal tries (46 of 62) with ugly make percentages between 40 and 49 yards out (58.8%) and 50 yards and beyond (50%).
Like Santos, Moody was shaky in the opening week. He missed a 27-yard attempt off the left upright and had a 36-yarder blocked in the four-point win over the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1, prompting the 49ers to cut him loose the day after the game.
Now, Moody will have an opportunity to wipe his slate clean in Chicago and compete with Santos for the primary placekicker job with the Bears heading into Week 2.
Cairo Santos’ Struggles Stood Out in Week 1’s Loss
Santos, a 33-year-old team captain, struggled against the Minnesota Vikings last week in his season-opening performance, missing a 50-yard field goal in the fourth quarter and failing to boot the ball out of the back of the end zone on the Vikings’ final drive.
The Bears had tried to kick the ball through the back of the end zone in an attempt to conserve time and put themselves in a position to mount a comeback drive, but Santos didn’t have the leg to get the ball far enough, resulting in Vikings returner Ty Chandler fielding the kick and taking it out of the end zone to drain more time off of the clock.
After the game, Bears head coach Ben Johnson admitted he and his coaches considered an onside kick instead in the situation, but they ultimately trusted Santos’ leg — in vain.
“Yeah, we did [consider the onside],” Johnson said in Monday’s postgame. “But we felt like if we would’ve kicked it out of the end zone and got the three-and-out that we got, we would’ve gotten the ball back with around 56 seconds.”
Jake Moody Might Offer Less Security Than Cairo Santos
Santos might be at the end of his rope with the Bears after his waning leg strength took center stage in their 27-24 loss to the Vikings, but is Moody a better choice for them?
While Santos seems to have difficulty with kicking 50-plus-yarders, Moody has offered little reason to think he would be an improvement from long distance. He has a younger and fresher leg, but his numbers over his first two seasons tell a tale of inaccuracy.
For example, Santos has missed nine of the 49 field goals he has tried from between 40 and 49 yards away in his 84 games as the Bears’ primary kicker, dating back to 2020. Meanwhile, Moody has already missed seven kicks in the same range over his first two seasons with the 49ers and has more missed from shorter yardage than Santos — who has been a perfect 73-of-73 from fewer than 40 yards away in his six years in Chicago.
Maybe Moody is a project for the Bears, but it is hard to imagine why the Bears would think a former third-round draft bust is the solution to their one-week kicking woes.