How an interaction with Robbie Gould helped turn Cairo Santos’ career around
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:
“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.'”