The 3 p.m. deadline for the Bears to make a roster move in advance of their game at Washington tonight passed without them adding a kicker. That almost certainly means Eddy Pineiro is playing despite an injured right knee.
Pineiro, who made the game-winner from 53 yards against the Broncos last week, hurt his knee in the weight room Friday and was limited in practice Saturday. Bears coach Matt Nagy listed him as questionable on the final injury report said the team was formulating a contingency plan in case he was out.
The only move the Bears made was waiving tight end Bradley Sowell and signing defensive lineman Abdullah Anderson off their practice squad. Anderson is eligible to play tonight.
Punter Pat O’Donnell is likely the Bears’ emergency kicker, but has not attempted a field goal in a game since high school. If there was still concern about Pineiro’s health, the team probably would have signed a free agent fill-in rather than go into a game with O’Donnell as the kicker. Nonetheless, he’ll be on standby.
Kicker, of course, has been a problematic position for the Bears over the last two years. They signed Cody Parkey to a big contract in 2018 free agency, but he struggled and was released at the end of the season.
The Bears believed they found their answer in Pineiro after a long, unorthodox offseason search, and he is 4 for 4 in his first NFL season with three of those field goals coming from 40-plus yards.
