The Chicago Bears began training camp this summer with one major question hanging over GM Ryan Pace and coach Matt Nagy’s heads: Who is the starting kicker? There was no answer after the offseason program, and now that practice sessions at Bourbonnais have come to an end, there’s still no resolution.
Both Elliott Fry and Eddy Pineiro have fared well in training camp. They each made kicks in the preseason opener against the Panthers, even though Pineiro does have one more miss than Fry on his summer stat sheet.
There’s a chance that neither player will separate himself as the front-runner in the three preseason games remaining. And to make the matter more confusing, there was speculation the Bears were in trade talks with the Ravens for Kaare Vedvik, who was ultimately dealt to the Vikings for a fifth-round pick.
Assuming Chicago was one of the NFC North teams ESPN’s Adam Schefter said had called Baltimore about Vedvik, what does that tell us? Does Pace think the Bears kicker isn’t on the roster yet? Is this kicking competition a big farce right now?
Fry and Pineiro may be the only two players kicking in Bears practices, but they aren’t the only kickers competing for Chicago’s starting job. There will be several talented legs who fall short of making final rosters this summer, and one of them could be a player Pace rates higher than his current two.
Remember, the Bears will have advanced pro scouting on every kicker who receives walking papers. They’ll have preseason film to evaluate and compare to Fry and Pineiro. It’s a luxury that doesn’t necessarily translate well to every position on the field.
If there’s someone better, he’ll be a Bear.
Flip a coin, take a guess, pull a name out of a hat. There’s just no right way to predict who will be kicking footballs for Chicago come Sept. 5.
