For the second straight year, the Chicago Bears will have a competition at kicker in training camp. Although, to be fair, this one won’t be quite the circus last offseason’s competition was.
Last year, Eddy Pineiro outlasted Elliott Fry in training camp and preseason to win the starting job. As a rookie, Pineiro had a solid season connecting on 23-of-28 field goals (82.1%) and 27-of-29 extra points. But Pineiro wasn’t without his faults. He had a rough stretch where he went 3-of-7 on field goals, including missing some important kicks.
Pineiro notes that his rookie season was a good learning experience that should benefit him heading into his sophomore campaign. Still, he understands that he needs to improve in certain areas.
“The first year with the Bears was a good learning experience,” Pineiro said on Bears All-Access. “I think there’s a lot of room for improvement. I think I can get better. And I’m hoping for another successful year this year. Hopefully I can get my percentage up a little bit. The biggest learning experience for me was kicking in a windy game and then going to a dome, that transition. I feel like I’ve matured a lot as a kicker and hopefully this year goes good for me.”
While Pineiro had a solid rookie season, the Bears brought in Ramiz Ahmed to challenge him for the starting job in training camp. Like Pineiro a year ago, Ahmed doesn’t have any NFL experience. He last kicked as a senior at Nevada, where he connected on 15 of 20 field goals (75%).
Pineiro should be the favorite to win the job again, but he does feel the pressure that comes with competition for a starting job. Luckily, he’s already proven that he can win a kicker competition.
“Obviously, there is pressure,” Pineiro said. “They brought in somebody to compete, so I’ve got to compete. I’ve got to win my job like everybody else. Everybody has to compete and win their job.”
