Chicago Bears: Final 53-man roster prediction after training camp

Specialists (3)

Who’s in: Cairo Santos, Pat O’Donnell, Patrick Scales
Practice Squad: Eddy Pineiro

The Bears had a city full of players battle for the open kicker’s spot. Pineiro won that battle. He had an up and down season, however. He started out well, then struggled, then finished strong.

Pineiro has had an up and down offseason as well. He thought he was good to start again. Then the Bears signed Ramiz Ahmed. Before a competition could happen, however, the Bears waived Ahmed. Pineiro was in the clear, or so he thought.

Two weeks after cutting Ahmed, the Bears signed Santos. They said it was a precaution since Pineiro tweaked his groin. Do the Bears still lack some trust in Pineiro, though?

Santos had a good week in camp and was impressive at practice in Soldier Field. He is a proven veteran so the coaches could feel more comfortable with him. Pineiro would be the backup plan in case Santos gets injured. He was with the Bears in 2017 and attempted two field goals (making one) and two extra points (making both) before an injury stopped him.

Scales and O’Donnell are like your favorite sweater — you keep it for a long time until it falls apart. They have a combined 11 seasons as Chicago Bears players. Scales survived a battle last season but this year he hasn’t had any challenge.

So there you have it. That’s the roster as I see it. Let’s see how close it is to the real one. Of course, there will be released players around the league so there could be an available player we didn’t even think would be available. In any case, it’s great that the season is about to begin.