Bears kicker Cairo Santos

All kicker Cairo Santos wanted was to stick around somewhere.To get more news about Men Game chicago bears jerseys, you can visit bearsbuy official website.

After being waived by the Chiefs after three games in 2017, he had stints with five different NFL teams. Santos appeared in two games for the Bears later that season and was once called "Carlos" by then-coach John Fox. He joined the Jets in the 2018 offseason but was released in late August, then worked parts of 14 games through 2019 with the Rams, Buccaneers and Titans, failing to stick in any of those destinations.

In his final game with the Titans on Oct. 6, 2019, Santos missed four field-goal attempts in a 14-7 loss to the Bills. Tennessee released him a day later. His NFL opportunity could've been over that day, but it turns out he was just getting started.The Bears brought in Santos last August as an insurance policy for injured kicker Eddy Pineiro, who was held out of training camp with a groin injury. Santos opened the regular season as Chicago's kicker and never relinquished the job. He converted 30 of 32 field-goal attempts and hit a franchise record 27 consecutive field goals.

The Bears awarded Santos with a contract extension earlier in March, a five-year deal worth up to $17.5 million that can be voided to three years by the team. For the 29-year-old Santos, the new deal represents a lasting opportunity.

"I just took advantage of that to make it a long term," Santos said. "So to me, it’s a dream come true to have a home again, something that I’ve been searching for the last several years. It means a lot to have that -- I don’t want to call it stability, because as a kicker you’re always on your toes -- but just to see the future more than just one week at a time."Part of Santos' struggles earlier in his career were due to injury. On Dec. 3, 2017, Santos first dealt with his groin injury before the Bears' game against the 49ers. He was unable to handle kickoffs or field goals, only extra points. Chicago lost that game 15-14 to San Francisco as Robbie Gould hit five field goals against the Bears team that released him a year earlier.

The Bears' struggles at kicker grew exponentially with Cody Parkey in 2018. Pineiro was then inconsistent in the position in 2019, leaving the door open for Santos a year later.