The Bears have two kickers at the moment, which by definition means they have a competition.
But that competition extends far beyond Elliott Fry or Eddy Pineiro, and into about 31 other NFL camps.
Via J.J. Stankevitz of NBCSportsChicago.com, Bears General Manager Ryan Pace said he’d be watching his own kickers, as well as all the other teams in the league as they try to fix their problem.
“We’re watching all the teams, all the competitive situations around the league — one of them will be kicker,” Pace said. “We’re just watching that progress as we go forward. We know right now where we stand, where some of those battles are occurring. We’re watching those. And I’m sure there will be ones that will pop up that might surprise us.”
When Pace and coach Matt Nagy held a pre-camp press conference Sunday, the first 11 questions involved that position in some way. Cody Parkey’s dramatic miss would make that somewhat natural. Pace said the two kickers were “even” going into camp, which I guess is true from the standpoint that neither is safe.
But the Bears’ wide-net approach this offseason (which included eight kickers and the punter trying field goals during rookie minicamp) has made it their top storyline as they enter the season.