The Chicago Bears survived kicker Cairo Santos' injury better than expected. Starting the last two games without their reliable veteran, the Bears had some kicking concerns, but Jake Moody made the most of his opportunity, making eight of his nine field goal attempts and not missing an extra point. His only miss was a blocked kick against the Commanders, which he more than made up for with the game-winning FG as time expired.
Ahead of Week 8, the Bears have a different sort of kicking concern. Cairo Santos returned to practice as a full participant on Thursday, putting him firmly in line to get his spot back on Sunday. Head coach Ben Johnson had previously said that Santos was his kicker when healthy, putting Moody's future in Chicago in jeopardy.
Jake Moody's Future with the Bears in Jeopardy After Cairo Santos' Return
What complicates matters further is the fact that the Bears already used two of their three elevations on Moody. They would love to keep Moody on the practice squad since he has shown his ability to be a reliable backup option if Santos were to go down again. Not only does this open him up to getting poached by other teams looking for a kicker upgrade, but it's also not the smartest use of resources to have a kicker on your practice squad who you can only play for one more game.
There are a few directions the Bears can go. They can sign Moody to the active roster, and be one of the rare NFL teams to have two kickers on their 53-man roster. Or they can let Moody go and bring in another kicker to the practice squad. Even though Moody has proven to be the best option behind Santos, having a kicker who can play more games without having to be signed to the active roster in case of another Santos injury could be a better approach.
If the Bears end up keeping Moody on the practice squad, they will have a difficult decision to make if Santos re-aggravates his thigh injury. They may be forced to put Santos on the IR list just so that they don't waste a roster space on two kickers.
While Moody's situation puts the Bears in a bind, this is a good problem to have. Having an embarrassment of riches in the kicker position while some teams struggle to have one reliable option, there must be much more preferable for Ben Johnson and the coaching staff.