The Bears’ kicking competition is back on.
The team is expected to sign Cairo Santos on Monday — once he passes coronavirus testing — after they brought him in for a tryout, sources confirmed late Saturday. That news first came a few hours after coach Matt Nagy was asked why Eddy Pineiro, the only kicker in camp, hadn’t tried a field goal all week.
‘‘We’re going to start putting these guys through some punting and special teams and field-goal stuff and really get them moving,’’ Nagy said. ‘‘We’re just not there yet.’’
Pineiro, who made 23 of 28 field-goal attempts in his first season with the Bears in 2019, became their only kicker after they cut Ramiz Ahmed before camp. Special-teams coordinator Chris Tabor said the move was because NFL teams trimmed their rosters from 90 players to 80.
Tabor said last week that Pineiro still had to compete for his job — albeit against the rest of the league.
‘‘That’s for every player, to be honest with you,’’ Tabor said. ‘‘You expect him to make kicks. You want him to make every kick. But history has shown that doesn’t always happen.
‘‘But his expectation is to be a really good player for us. And if that doesn’t get satisfied, just as with any other position, you have to do what’s best for the team.’’
The Titans cut Santos last season — and replaced him with infamous former Bears kicker Cody Parkey — after he missed four field goals in a 14-7 loss to the Bills. In five games, he went 4-for-9 on field goals.
Santos spent the first 3 1/2 seasons of his career with the Chiefs, where Nagy served as an assistant. He kicked in two games for the Bears in 2017 before getting hurt and played for the Rams and Buccaneers in 2018.
