​The Chicago Bears are storming into a highly anticipated 2026 campaign, intent on building on the success of their impressive first year under head coach Ben Johnson. The 2025 season delivered an NFC North title and a wild-card playoff victory, but Chicago is entering a fresh chapter marked by significant offseason turnover. Veterans departed while new veterans and exciting rookies arrived, signaling a complete reset as the team looks to maximize its potential under Johnson. Training camp will be the arena where that potential is translated into results, with Johnson putting his roster through rigorous work to ready them for the challenges of 2026. From now through camp, we’re counting down our 30 Most Important Bears for the 2026 season, revisiting the 2025 campaign, projecting ahead to 2026, and tackling the defining question facing the club this year.
Next up at No. 20 is Cairo Santos, entering his seventh season in Chicago and once again positioned to be a decisive factor when the game is on the line. Yet questions linger about what his future with the Bears holds. Santos, now 34, brings a measure of stability to a kicker position that has long been unsettled since Robbie Gould’s era, even as his leg strength remains a point of discussion among some fans and observers. In 2025 he connected on 25 of 30 field goal attempts and all 39 extra points, finishing with an 83.3% field goal percentage—the lowest mark he has posted since joining Chicago, though he did convert every extra point for the first time with the franchise. He delivered several clutch kicks under pressure, including moments that forced overtime, won crucial games, or kept Chicago within striking distance in adverse conditions at Soldier Field.
The question going forward is whether Santos’s tenure in Chicago will extend beyond 2026, and if so, how the Bears will manage the balance between年月 consistency and the evolving demands of a modern NFL kicking game. As the team aims to play with leads more consistently this season, the expectation is that Santos will need to reproduce the reliability that has kept him in the lineup, especially when the stakes are highest. His capacity to nail long-distance tries, which have grown rarer across the league, could become a defining element of Chicago’s success in 2026. The Bears will rely on Santos to deliver when it matters most, whether that means sealing a late drive, forcing overtime in tough winds, or punching through in tight contests when a field goal could tilt the outcome. In a season where every win matters and the margin for error is slim, Santos’s performance could prove pivotal, even as Chicago continues to explore every avenue to optimize the kicking position for the long term.