Over the last five seasons, Cairo Santos has served as kicker for the Chicago Bears, and while it’s likely he’ll remain in the role again during the 2025 season, he may be getting some legit competition in the form of Jonathan Kim.
One of 10 undrafted free agents reported to have joined the team, Kim is fresh from a standout campaign at Michigan State, and Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic believes the rookie kicker has a shot at unseating Santos.
“Usually a second kicker can be a literal camp body, someone to take some kicks off the veteran’s plate and can be on a team’s emergency call list,” Fishbain wrote on April 29. “But Michigan State’s Jonathan Kim, a reported undrafted rookie addition, could also compete with Santos. It’s not easy to kick at Soldier Field, and Santos has generally been outstanding, but we’ll see if this turns into a competition.”
Fishbain’s colleague, Adam Jahns, thinks Santos’ $15.6 million contract, which extends through 2027, could prohibit Kim from taking over as the team’s new boot. But if Kim outshines Santos all summer long, what then?
New Bears Kicker Jonathan Kim Could Challenge Cairo Santos
Kim began his collegiate career at North Carolina, where he primarily served as a kickoff specialist from 2019 to 2022. Over 36 games with the Tar Heels, Kim had 239 kickoffs, averaging 63.3 yards per kick. He also netted 189 touchbacks, resulting in a 79% touchback rate. His standout season came in 2020, when he led the FBS with 76 touchbacks on 89 kickoffs (that’s an impressive 85% touchback rate).
In 2023, Kim transferred to Michigan State as a grad student, transitioning into the role of the Spartans’ primary kicker. Over two seasons (2023–2024), he played in 24 games, making 32 of his 39 field goal attempts and setting a new school record with an 82.1% field goal percentage in the process. He also went 39-41 on extra point attempts. Notably, Kim demonstrated impressive range, successfully making seven field goals from beyond 50 yards, including a career-long 58-yarder against Iowa in 2023.
In 2024, he was 8-8 on kicks in the 40-49-yard range, and 3-4 on kicks over 55+ yards. He did miss two extra points, though. He led Michigan State in scoring with 79 points last season, converting 19 of 21 field goal attempts (90.5%) and 22 of 24 PATs (91.7%). His performance earned him second-team All-Big Ten honors and a spot as a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award.
There’s a reason the Bears added him, and if he shows up and shows out, Santos had better be on his game.
Santos Is Coming Off Season With Notable Highs & Lows
Santos has been a key figure for the Bears since rejoining the team in 2020 after his initial stint in 2017. In 2024, he played in all 17 games, going 21-25 on his field goal attempts (84%) and 25 of 26 on extra points (96.2%). His reliability has been a cornerstone of the Bears’ special teams unit for the last five years.
But last season, he had some notable misses. One occurred in a game against the New Orleans Saints, where he ended a streak of 14 consecutive made field goals by hitting the right upright on a 40-yard attempt just before halftime. Santos described the miss as “unacceptable,” especially given the cushy indoor conditions of the Caesars Superdome.
Another critical miss happened in a game against the rival Green Bay Packers. With the Bears trailing by a point and 20 seconds left in the game, Santos attempted a potential game-winning 46-yard field goal that was blocked, resulting in a 20-19 loss.
Despite these misses, Santos’ overall performance in 2024 was strong. He made 8-of-9 field goal attempts of 50+ yards.
While it would be a shock if Santos was usurped as Chicago’s kicker, this is Ben Johnson’s team now. If Kim displays a big leg and a ton of accuracy and Santos struggles in any way, this could be an intriguing situation to monitor. Stay tuned.
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