Extension for Bears PK Cairo Santos worth $16M, source says

Cairo Santos, a seasoned kicker, has inked a four-year contract extension with the Chicago Bears. A source tells ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the $16 million contract includes a $9.5 million guarantee.

Without revealing the extension’s financial details, the Bears made the announcement on Saturday.

Cairo’s four-year extension is fantastic, general manager Ryan Poles stated in a statement. “His consistency and dependability will help us continue to elevate.”

Santos, 32, has served as the Bears’ kicker since the 2020 season. He has made 104 of 114 field goal attempts in that span, including 27-of-29 this season. His 30 field goals made in 2020 set a franchise record.

The new contract ties Santos to Chicago through the 2027 season. Santos had been playing on the final year of the extension he signed after he set the Bears’ single-season record by making 93.8% of his field goals in 2020.

Santos surpassed longtime Bears kicker Robbie Gould as the most accurate kicker in franchise history and has made 91.2% of his field goal attempts since rejoining the Bears in 2020. (Santos’ first stint in Chicago came during the 2017 season when he appeared in two games.)

He was named the NFC’s special teams player of the month in November when he went 12-for-14 on field goals and 5-for-5 on extra points. He also led the NFL in field goals made, field goals attempted and in points (41).

Over a ten-year career, Santos has also kicked for the Tennessee Titans, Los Angeles Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Kansas City Chiefs.

As the Bears get closer to the beginning of the summer, Poles has other things on his must-do list besides Santos’ deal.

Jaylon Johnson, a cornerback, is a free agent who expressed this week that he wants to remain in Chicago after the 2023 campaign.

Johnson was not traded at the deadline after seeking a trade in October, and the Bears and the cornerback were unable to reach an agreement on an extension earlier in the season.

Johnson has four interceptions, which ties him for the team lead.

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