Bears Place Eddy Pineiro on Injured Reserve

The Bears have a need for a kicker yet again.

It looks like the Bears will be without their starting kicker for the beginning of the season, as they have placed Eddy Pineiro on the injured reserve list due to a groin injury.

We have signed DE Mario Edwards Jr. & placed K Eddy Piñeiro on IR.@Hyundai | #DaBears
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) September 8, 2020

The next logical move for the Bears would be to promote Cairo Santos before the upcoming game against Detroit this Sunday. Here’s a look at Santos’s career stats:

Kicking & Punting Table
					Games		0-19		20-29		30-39		40-49		50+		Scoring			Scoring				Kickoffs					Punting
Year	Age	Tm	Pos	No.	G	GS	FGA	FGM	FGA	FGM	FGA	FGM	FGA	FGM	FGA	FGM	FGA	FGM	Lng	FG%	XPA	XPM	XP%	KO	KOYds	TB	TB%	KOAvg	Pnt	Yds	Lng	Blck	Y/P	AV
2014	23	KAN		5	16	0	1	1	10	10	6	5	11	8	2	1	30	25	53	83.3%	38	38	100.0%	80	5085	26	32.5%	63.6						3
2015	24	KAN		5	16	0			8	7	10	10	11	9	8	4	37	30	53	81.1%	41	39	95.1%	90	5721	40	44.4%	63.6						3
2016	25	KAN		5	16	0			9	8	17	15	7	6	2	2	35	31	53	88.6%	39	36	92.3%	86	5355	48	55.8%	62.3						3
2017	26	2TM			5	0					4	4			1		5	4	39	80.0%	14	14	100.0%	20	1308	12	60.0%	65.4						1
		CHI		2	2	0					1	1			1		2	1		50.0%	2	2	100.0%	2	130	2	100.0%	65.0						0
		KAN		5	3	0					3	3					3	3		100.0%	12	12	100.0%	18	1178	10	55.6%	65.4						1
2018	27	2TM			9	0	1	1	4	4	6	6	6	3	1		18	14	45	77.8%	23	22	95.7%	49	2977	19	38.8%	60.8						1
		LAR		3	2	0	1	1	2	2	2	2	1				6	5		83.3%	6	5	83.3%	13	821	7	53.8%	63.2						0
		TAM		5	7	0			2	2	4	4	5	3	1		12	9		75.0%	17	17	100.0%	36	2156	12	33.3%	59.9						1
2019	28	TEN		7	5	0					3	1	3	2	3	1	9	4	53	44.4%	12	12	100.0%	21	1339	12	57.1%	63.8						0
Career					67		2	2	31	29	46	41	38	28	17	8	134	108	53	80.6%	167	161	96.4%	346	21785	157	45.4%	63.0						11
4 yrs		KAN			51	0	1	1	27	25	36	33	29	23	12	7	105	89	53	84.8%	130	125	96.2%	274	17339	124	45.3%	63.3						10
1 yr		CHI			2	0					1	1			1		2	1	38	50.0%	2	2	100.0%	2	130	2	100.0%	65.0						0
1 yr		LAR			2	0	1	1	2	2	2	2	1				6	5	39	83.3%	6	5	83.3%	13	821	7	53.8%	63.2						0
1 yr		TAM			7	0			2	2	4	4	5	3	1		12	9	45	75.0%	17	17	100.0%	36	2156	12	33.3%	59.9						1
1 yr		TEN			5	0					3	1	3	2	3	1	9	4	53	44.4%	12	12	100.0%	21	1339	12	57.1%	63.8						0

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/8/2020.

Notably, Santos has a career field goal percentage of 80.6, which isn’t outstanding by any means. However, this scenario could be much worse. Santos has jumped between several different teams in his tenure and should possess the poise to rise to the occasion under pressure.