Story by
Most Impactful Bears of 2025: No. 15 Cairo Santos
- Story by
- Most Impactful Bears of 2025: No. 15 Cairo Santos
The Chicago Bears concluded their 2025 season, where they finished with an 11-6 record, an NFC North title and their first playoff win in 15 years under first-year head coach Ben Johnson. And there's no denying that the future is incredibly bright.
Over the next couple of weeks, we'll be counting down our 15 Most Impactful Bears from the 2025 season, which features plenty of young talent that made huge contributions in Chicago's magical season. We'll recap their 2025 season and look ahead to how they factor into 2026. There were plenty of top talent to highlight this season, which made for difficult decisions when narrowing the field to just 15 players and/or coaches.
Advertisement
We're kicking things off at No. 15 with kicker Cairo Santos, who despite some concerns with his leg strength continues to be a valuable asset for the offense.
The Basics
-
Position: Kicker
-
Age: 34
-
Experience: 14th season
-
2025 cap hit: $4.26 million
Most Impactful Bears of 2025
2025 Stats
-
Field goals = 25-for-30 (83.3%)
-
Extra points = 39-for-39 extra points (100%)
2025 Recap
Santos has been the picture of stability at kicker for the Bears over the last five years, but he was somewhat of a controversial topic early in the season where some wanted Chicago to move forward with Jake Moody, who stepped in for a couple of games with Santos sidelined. Santos has been pretty reliable for the Bears, especially considering their kicker history after Robbie Gould, but he's not exactly a modern NFL kicker known for his leg strength. Santos' 83.3% field goal percentage was the lowest since joining Chicago, although he made all of his extra points for his first time with the Bears. While he got off to a rough start, he rebounded in a massive way and led the way for the offense when they stalled. Santos came through with some clutch kicks to force overtime, win games or even put the Chicago in a position to win.
Advertisement
2026 Outlook
There's been plenty of speculation about Santos' future with the Bears, given leg strength concerns. But after a rocky start, Santos established himself as one of the team's most reliable weapons, especially in close-knit games when the offense would stall in the red zone. That stability will likely lead to Santos' return in 2026. Santos has experience kicking in the elements at Soldier Field and delivering when Chicago needs it most. The Bears signed Santos to a four-year contract extension back in Dec. 2023, so he still has two years left on his deal. Although that wouldn't necessarily prohibit Chicago from making a change at kicker, if that's the direction they elect to go. But, barring serious competition, it certainly feels like Santos will be back for another season after his reliability down the stretch in 2025.
Follow Bears Wire on Twitter , Facebook and Instagram
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Most Impactful Bears of 2025: No. 15 Cairo Santos
