Chicago Bears kicker Cairo Santos signs 4-year contract extension

CHICAGO (AP) - Chicago Bears kicker Cairo Santos has signed a four-year contract extension that runs through the 2027 season.

The Bears announced the deal on Saturday. General manager Ryan Poles said Santos' "consistency and dependability will help us continue to elevate."

The 32-year-old Santos is 27 for 29 on field goals and 24 for 26 on extra points heading into Sunday's game against Arizona. He is 6 for 6 on field-goal attempts from 50-plus yards this season.

Going into this weekend, he was tied for fourth in the NFL in field goals made and tied for 11th among kickers in total points scored at 105.

The 5-foot-8 Santos played for Tulane University before breaking into the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2014. He is 212 for 248 on field goals and 275 for 290 on extra points for his career.

After playing two games for Chicago in 2017, Santos stepped in for the Bears when  Eddy Pineiro was placed on injured reserve in September 2020 with a groin injury. Santos made 30 of 32 field goals and 36 of 37 extra points that season, giving the Bears the stability they had been seeking since they cut Robbie Gould before the 2016 season. 

Since 2020, Santos has connected on 104 of 114 field-goal attempts. The Sao Paulo, Brazil, native is the most accurate kicker in Bears history at 90.2% (minimum 100 field goals made).