With the second week of preseason games scheduled to start later this week, some NFL teams are already getting a head start on cutting down their rosters from 90 players to 53, which has to be finalized towards the end of this month.
The Chicago Bears have made a few roster moves since their first preseason game, signing running back Brittain Brown, waiving defensive back Ameer Speed, and also picking up safety Mark Perry. The Bears look to see what Brown and Perry can offer over the final two preseason games.
In addition to those moves, the Bears also parted ways with a kicker on Tuesday afternoon after seeing veteran Cairo Santos’ performance in the opener against the Miami Dolphins.
The Bears have waived WR John Jackson, K Jonathan Kim and S Major Burns and have placed DB Shaun Wade on IR.
— Dan Wiederer (@danwiederer) August 12, 2025
Bears Send UDFA Kicker Jonathan Kim Packing Ahead of 2nd Preseason Game
According to Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune, the Bears waived two players, including UDFA kicker Jonathan Kim.
Kim was signed as an undrafted free agent following the 2025 NFL Draft earlier this year. During his last two years of college football at Michigan State, Kim made 82.1 percent of his field goals (32-of-39).
That said, the rookie wasn’t going to win the starting job over Santos, who is under contract through 2027. And that became apparent in the opener when Santos banged through a 57-yard field goal to end the first half.
Cairo Santos drills the 57-yarder.. 😳
— Dave (@dave_bfr) August 10, 2025
pic.twitter.com/4ehmk9CTUW
Kim did not get a chance to attempt any field goals against the Dolphins, but still went 2-for-2 on extra point attempts, which still counts on his preseason resume.
Even though the undrafted free agent kicker was fighting an uphill battle, he still managed to get an opportunity to showcase his skills, not only for the Bears but also for the other 31 teams across the league.
Since Kim got released ahead of the second preseason game, there’s still time for him to join another team that might be looking for competition over the final weeks of the exhibition slate.
If he doesn’t get signed between now and the final preseason contest, then the UDFA could get picked up for a practice squad spot later this month. However, if that doesn’t happen, he’ll have to take his chances on the workout circuit during the regular season.