The Chicago Bears will try out veteran Kai Forbath on Wednesday, introducing at least the possibility they could have a new kicker for Thursday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The team listed Forbath, long snapper Andrew DePaola and punter Ryan Anderson as coming in for a tryout on the league’s personnel notice, and a source said the workout is scheduled for Wednesday. That means it has been in the works since the weekend as players need to arrive at the facility to pass COVID-19 protocol before the tryout.
Cairo Santos is 5-for-7 on field goals this season with a 46-yard miss in Week 3 in Atlanta and a miss from 50 yards in Week 2 against the New York Giants. Eddy Pineiro remains on injured reserve with a groin injury.
Forbath, 33, was cut by the Dallas Cowboys on Aug. 1 and has had two stints on the Carolina Panthers practice squad this season. He had a tryout for the Falcons last week.
Forbath hasn’t had a full-time job in the league since 2017, when he was with the Minnesota Vikings. He kicked for the Jacksonville Jaguars for three games in 2018 and had one game with the New England Patriots and four with the Cowboys in 2019. He has an 86.8% career success rate on field goal attempts.
He made 32 of 38 field goals for the Vikings in 2017 but missed five extra points and was replaced by rookie Daniel Carlson the next season. The Vikings have gone through the kind of kicker turnover the Bears have experienced since the Robbie Gould era ended before the 2016 season.
Forbath was 11 of 11 for the Cowboys last season (including 7 of 7 from 40 to 49 yards), but they opted to go with Greg Zuerlein, who previously worked with special teams coordinator John Fassel with the Los Angeles Rams.
Given the timing of the tryout — it was arranged over the weekend — the Bears could be looking at an alternative to Santos, or it’s possible the team doesn’t believe Pineiro will return from his groin injury soon and wants to be prepared to consider another kicker to have two available. Santos made his only attempt in Sunday’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts, a 27-yard kick.
DePaola played for the Bears in 2017. Anderson, who presumably will be the holder for the tryout, spent time with the Giants last season. The Bears will be able to evaluate him as a punter too.