pixel
Bears News

How an interaction with Robbie Gould helped turn Cairo Santos’ career around

3 weeks agoMatt Danielewicz

The Bears offense came away from the 19-13 loss to the Houston Texans in Week 2 feeling like it could have done more. But one thing went right for the offense: Kicker Cairo Santos joined elite company in franchise history.

Santos joined Bears Den Tuesday with Taylor McGregor and former Bears kicker Robbie Gould to discuss being on the all-time list of points scored by Bears players:

Bears Points

“It is always an honor to climb up the list of this historic franchise and to always try to follow in the footsteps of Robbie [Gould] who’s helped me since my rookie year. He’s a guy that I’ve always looked up to especially being here and try to follow some of his success,” Santos said on Bears Den.

Santos shared a story of his first interaction with Gould, when he was a rookie in Kansas City.

“The first time ever I talked to Robbie was when I started really slow in Kansas City,” Santos said. “I had a great camp, great preseason and I missed a kick in my first 2 games and Robbie gave me a call. I got a voicemail after practice one day and it was from Robbie and I asked, ‘did Coach [Dave] Toub set this up?’ It was Robbie that wanted to reach out.

“Hearing from a guy at that moment I had already respected as one of the best veteran kickers in the game. He reached out to me because he liked what he saw in preseason, he believed that I was kicking differently from that moment and I needed to kick with more confidence. Hearing from a guy like that, it helped to spark knowing that there’s a veteran guy out there that believes I’m good enough to be a kicker here.”

Santos signed with the Bears in 2020 and has been a consistent contributor for the team, ranking 6th for most points scored by a player in franchise history. In 5 seasons with the Bears, Santos is 2nd in NFL with a field goal percentage of 91.4%, going 117-for-128.

While enduring adversity earlier in his career, Santos has found a home in Chicago.

“I was at a turning point where I had injuries; I bounced from a lot of teams,” Santos said. “I ended on a bad note in Tennessee getting cut after a terrible game and not getting a single call after that 2019 season until landing here in Chicago in 2020. I grew a lot during that moment where I was waiting for the next opportunity and I remember telling myself, ‘it’s just going to take one more opportunity and I’m back in this thing.'”

For more Bears coverage and to hear the full Cairo Santos interview, head to the Marquee Sports Network app.

Don’t Miss Out On The Action!

Sign up for the Marquee Sports Network Newsletter today for all the latest Cubs news, plus upcoming Marquee programming and much more!

Newsletter Signup
Consent *
Opt-in
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.