The Bears brought Cairo Santos in for a physical last Thursday and he returned Monday to sign a contract as the replacement for Connor Barth.
Santos agreed to a one-year deal to become the team's new kicker with six games remaining in the regular season. An NFL source told the Tribune of the signing Monday morning, and the team announced it in the afternoon.
Barth, who was waived on Monday, missed a 46-yard field goal try with three seconds remaining in the Bears' 27-24 loss to the Lions on Sunday at Soldier Field.
The Bears had been waiting for Santos to heal from a groin injury that led the Chiefs to waive him injured on Sept. 30.
"He's been pretty accurate," coach John Fox said Monday. "He gets pretty good lift on the ball. His leg strength, he has developed. He has good hang time on his kickoffs. I'd say the key is he's an accomplished kicker in the National Football League."
Perhaps they didn't make a change last week after Barth connected on three field goals from 40 to 49 yards in the home loss to the Packers on Nov. 12.
Now, Santos will get a chance to show what he can do before he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Santos was 3-for-3 on field goals and 6-for-6 on extra points through the first three games with 10 touchbacks on 18 kickoffs. He was sidelined during training camp with a groin injury and was re-injured during a Week 3 victory over the Chargers leading the Chiefs to put him on the shelf and sign Harrison Butker.
The 26-year-old Santos was 31 for 35 on field goals last season in Kansas City, ranking fifth in the NFL at 88.6 percent. He is 89 for 105 on field goals in his career (84.8) since making the Chiefs in 2014 as an undrafted free agent from Tulane. Santos hit 55.8 percent of his kickoffs for touchbacks last season, a career best.
Santos is the first Brazilian born player in the NFL. He grew up playing soccer and wasn't introduced to football until he was a 15-year-old exchange student in Florida. He liked kicking a football so much he made the decision to remain in the U.S. for high school.
The Bears signed Barth at the start of last season as the replacement for veteran Robbie Gould, who was released. Barth, 31, made 18 of 23 field goals last season and is 11 for 16 this season with all five misses from beyond 40 yards.
"It wasn't going great," Fox said. "It just wasn't yesterday's kick. He sensed it and he understands. It's never easy making those changes."
If the Bears really want to secure Santos after this season, they could consider the franchise tag. That figure was pretty high this year at $4.835 million, but it could be a consideration if they view Santos as a player they don't want to risk losing in free agency.
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