Cairo Santos

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Cairo Santos
refer to caption
Santos in 2015
No. 2 – Chicago Bears
Position:Placekicker
Personal information
Born: (1991-11-12) 12 November 1991 (age 30)
Limeira, São Paulo, Brazil
Height:5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Weight:160 lb (73 kg)
Career information
High school:St. Joseph Academy
(St. Augustine, Florida)
College:Tulane
Undrafted:2014
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 18, 2021
Field goals made:164
Field goal attempts:196
Field goal %:83.7
Longest field goal:55
Touchbacks:233
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Cairo Fernandes Santos (born 12 November 1991)[1] is a Brazilian professional American football placekicker for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tulane, and was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2014. Santos has also played for the Los Angeles Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Tennessee Titans.

He is the first Brazilian born player in NFL history.[2]

Early life[]

Born in Limeira, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil,[3][4] Santos was raised in Brasilia, the capital, where his father worked as a pilot for Varig. Santos was unfamiliar with American football until he moved to St. Augustine, Florida, as a foreign exchange student at age 15.[5] Originally, Santos planned to stay at St. Joseph Academy for one year to learn English, but soon found that the kicking skills he had developed playing soccer in Brazil translated well to field goal kicking in American football. With the opportunity to earn a college scholarship, Santos remained in Florida, sharpening his kicking skills through high school.[6]

College career[]

Santos committed to Tulane on 22 January 2010. Santos also received interest from Georgia Tech, Jacksonville, and Miami (OH). Santos played in all 12 games his freshman year and was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team and was honorable-mention All C-USA after leading the Green Wave in points scored while making 13 of his 16 field goal attempts, 32 of his 33 PATs, and handling kick off duties. In his sophomore season, Santos played in all 13 games and finished second on the team in scoring making 11/18 field goals and 33/34 PATs while handling kickoffs and punting duties averaging 41 yards a punt.[7]

The 2012 was a breakout season for Santos as he went 26 of 27 on PATs (his only miss was blocked) and a perfect 21 of 21 on field goals, including a school record 57-yard field goal. He became only the second kicker to make at least 20 in a season without a miss. 12 of those field goals were from 40-plus yards and 2 from 50-plus and 31 of his 55 kickoffs went for touchbacks.[8] At the end of the season, Santos was named consensus All-American[9] and received the Lou Groza Award for the nation's most outstanding placekicker.[10]

Santos went on to compete in the 2014 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, where he connected on a 39-yard field goal and recorded one tackle on a kickoff return.

Professional career[]

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span
5 ft 8+18 in
(1.73 m)
164 lb
(74 kg)
28+12 in
(0.72 m)
8+78 in
(0.23 m)
All values from NFL Combine[11][12]

Kansas City Chiefs[]

2014 season[]

Santos was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Kansas City Chiefs on 19 May 2014.[13] He was named the Chiefs kicker on 30 August 2014, beating veteran Ryan Succop for the position. On 7 September 2014, he became the first Brazilian born player ever to play in an NFL regular season game[14] in a 26–10 loss to the Tennessee Titans, kicking his first career field goal. After missing two field goals in his first two games, he made his next 13 field goal attempts, including a clutch game-winning field goal with 26 seconds left in a Week 7 win over the San Diego Chargers and a 53-yard field goal the following week against the St. Louis Rams.[15][16]

Santos was the team leader whose 113 points were the most by a rookie player in Chiefs history.[17] He also made most field goals (25) by a rookie kicker in Chiefs history (tied with Ryan Succop).[18]

2015 season[]

In a 21–36 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on October 4, Santos kicked a team record seven field goals, including two over 50 yards. His seven field goals tied him with five players for the second most all-time in a single game.[19]

In Week 10, Santos made five field goals of six attempts against the Denver Broncos, the second game in the season with at least five field goals made.[20]

In Week 15, Santos kicked a 53-yard field goal against the Baltimore Ravens. This was the fourth field goal with at least 50 yards in the season.[21]

In a 30–0 victory against the Houston Texans in the AFC Wild Card game, Cairo Santos became the first Brazilian player to play in a National Football League playoffs game. He made three field goals and three extra point attempts.[22] He kicked two 49-yard field goals, the longest field goals in the Chiefs postseason history.[21]

In his second postseason game, Santos made two field goals in a 20–27 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional Playoffs game.[23]

2016 season[]

In Week 2, Santos kicked a 54-yard field goal in a 12–19 loss to the Houston Texans, the longest field goal of his professional career.[24]

Santos made two field goals in the 30–27 overtime victory against Denver Broncos including the game-winner, a 34-yard field goal attempt that bounced off the left upright.[25]

In November, Santos was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month for the first time after converting 11 of 11 field goals and all five extra points.[26]

2017 season[]

After missing much of training camp and the preseason with a groin injury, Santos returned at the start of the regular season. He started by converting all six extra point attempts in a 42–27 victory over the New England Patriots on Thursday Night Football. On 26 September 2017, the Kansas City Chiefs placed Santos on injured reserve.[27] On 30 September 2017, the Kansas City Chiefs waived Santos from injured reserve.[28]

Chicago Bears[]

On 20 November 2017, Santos signed with the Chicago Bears.[29] Santos missed his first field-goal attempt as a member of the Bears, a 54-yarder.[30] On 4 December, Santos was placed on injured reserve after hurting his groin in pregame warmups in Week 13 against the San Francisco 49ers.[31]

New York Jets[]

On 15 March 2018, Santos signed a one-year contract with the New York Jets.[32] He was released on 22 August 2018.[33]

Los Angeles Rams[]

On 2 October 2018, Santos signed with the Los Angeles Rams to serve as their starting kicker while Greg Zuerlein recovered from a groin injury.[34] In his first game, he made a game-winning 39-yard field goal in a 33–31 victory over the Seattle Seahawks.[35] He was released on 16 October 2018 after two games once Zuerlein was deemed healthy.[36]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers[]

On 12 November 2018, Santos was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after Chandler Catanzaro was released.[37] In his Tampa Bay debut, he was perfect on all five extra-point attempts in the 38–35 loss to the New York Giants in Week 11.[38] In Week 15, Santos made his 100th career field goal in the 20–12 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.[39]

On 13 March 2019, Santos re-signed with the Buccaneers.[40] On 31 August, Santos was released by the Buccaneers.[41]

Tennessee Titans[]

On 4 September 2019, Santos was signed by the Tennessee Titans after Ryan Succop was placed on injured reserve.[42] Santos was perfect in his team debut, connecting on two field-goal attempts as well as all five of his extra-point attempts in a 43–13 victory over the Cleveland Browns.[43] On 6 October, in a 14–7 Week 5 loss to the Buffalo Bills, Santos missed four field goal attempts while also making an extra point.[44] He was released by the Titans the next day.[45]

Chicago Bears (second stint)[]

2020 season[]

Santos signed with the Chicago Bears on 25 August 2020.[46] He was released on 5 September during final roster cuts,[47] and was placed on the team's practice squad a day later.[48] He was elevated to the active roster a day before the 2020 season opener against the Detroit Lions following starting kicker Eddy Piñeiro's placement on injured reserve.[49] Santos made both of his field goal attempts (35 and 28 yards) and all three extra points as the Bears won 27–23. He reverted to the practice squad a day later before being promoted to the 53-man roster on September 16.[50] Against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 4, he made the game-winning 38-yard field goal with 1:19 remaining.[51] Two weeks later against the Carolina Panthers, he converted a career-long 55-yard field goal as the Bears won 23–17; he was later named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week.[52] Santos was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for his performance in December.[53] Santos finished the 2020 season by making 30 of 32 field goal attempts. He also kicked a franchise-high 27 consecutive successful field goals during the season.[54]

2021 season[]

On 11 March 2021, Santos signed a three-year contract extension with the Bears worth $9 million.[55][56]

NFL career statistics[]

Regular season[]

Year Team GP Overall FGs PATs Kickoffs Points
Blk Lng FGA FGM Pct XPA XPM Pct Blk KO Avg TB Ret Avg
2014 KC 16 0 53 30 25 83.3 38 38 100.0 0 80 63.6 26 53 24.1 113
2015 KC 16 1 53 37 30 81.1 41 39 95.1 0 90 63.8 40 46 24.7 129
2016 KC 16 0 54 35 31 88.6 39 36 92.3 1 86 62.7 48 35 24.1 129
2017 KC 3 0 39 3 3 100.0 12 12 100.0 0 18 65.4 10 8 21.0 21
CHI 2 0 38 2 1 50.0 2 2 100.0 0 2 65.0 2 0 5
2018 LAR 2 0 39 6 5 83.3 6 5 83.3 0 13 63.2 7 6 23.8 20
TB 7 0 45 12 9 75.0 17 17 100.0 0 36 59.9 12 23 21.1 44
2019 TEN 5 1 53 9 4 44.4 12 12 100.0 0 21 63.8 12 9 22.3 24
2020 CHI 16 0 55 32 30 93.8 37 36 97.3 1 86 61.1 42 41 20.4 126
2021 CHI 13 0 44 22 19 93.8 37 36 98.8 0 84 68.9 49 46 24.4 34
Total 83 2 256 161 135 83.1 204 197 96.6 2 432 63.2 199 221 20.2 417

Postseason[]

Year Team GP Overall FGs PATs Kickoffs Points
Blk Lng FGA FGM Pct XPA XPM Pct Blk KO Avg TB Ret Avg
2015 KC 2 0 49 5 5 100.0 5 5 100.0 0 12 60.8 10 1 26.0 20
2016 KC 1 0 48 1 1 100.0 1 1 100.0 0 4 61.3 1 3 16.7 4
2020 CHI 1 0 36 1 1 100.0 0 0 0 2 65.0 2 0 3
Total 4 0 49 7 7 100.0 6 6 100.0 0 18 62.4 13 4 19.0 27

Accomplishments and records[]

NFL[]

  • 2nd most field goals made, game (tied with other 5 players): 7 on 4 October 2015[19]
  • 2nd most field goals made, no misses, game (tied with other 3 players): 7[57]

Kansas City Chiefs[]

  • Most points by a kicker, game: 21 on 4 October 2015[58]
  • Most field goals made, game: 7[59]
  • Most field goals made, game (playoffs) (tied with other 3 players): 3 on 9 January 2016[60]
  • Most field goals made, no misses, game: 7[61]
  • Most field goals attempted, game (tied with Jan Stenerud): 7[62]
  • Most field goals, 50+ yards, season (tied with Nick Lowery and Harrison Butker): 4, 2015[63]
  • Most field goals, 50+ yards, game (tied with other 3 players): 2 on 4 October 2015[21]
  • Most games, 2+ field goals made, season (tied with other 3 players): 10, 2016[64]
  • Longest field goal made, playoffs: 49 (twice) on 9 January 2016[21]
  • 2nd highest field goal percentage, career (min. 100 attempts): 84.8[65]

Chicago Bears[]

  • Most consecutive made field goals (40)[66]
  • Most consecutive made field goals in a single season (27) in 2020[66]
  • Highest single-season field goal completion percentage (92.8%)[67]

College[]

Personal life[]

On 15 September 2013, Santos' father died in a plane crash in Brazil. "I used to talk to my dad everyday, all the time. We were very close. He was my biggest fan, very supportive of my career, always wishing me to do well, no matter what. He will always be there for me. I know. After each successful kick or game I always think about him. I point my fingers to the sky in honor of him."[68]

In the 2016 "My Cause My Cleats" NFL campaign, Santos honored Chapecoense, a Brazilian association football club, due to the aircraft crash that occurred with the delegation of the club killing 71 people in Colombia on 28 November 2016.[69]

References[]

  1. ^ "Cairo Santos Player bio". TulaneGreenWave.com.
  2. ^ "NFL International Series: Cairo Santos' journey from Brazil". BBC.com. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2016.
  3. ^ Velasco, Leo (2 September 2014). "Após sonhar com 10 do Fla e do Brasil, Cairo Santos será 1º brasileiro da NFL". www.globoesporte.globo.com. GloboEsporte. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  4. ^ Ferreira, Edmar (29 January 2015). "Limeirense da NFL treinará nas férias para melhorar chute". www.gazetainfo.com.br. Gazeta de Limeira. Archived from the original on 22 February 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  5. ^ https://www.si.com/nfl/bears/news/cairo-santos-wound-up-better-at-american-football
  6. ^ "Kicking it in America: How Cairo Santos turned a one-year stay into a possible career in the NFL". Yahoo Sports. 6 December 2012.
  7. ^ "Cairo Santos". Tulane Green Wave. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  8. ^ "Cairo Santos Bio – Tulane University Official Athletic Site". tulanegreenwave.com.
  9. ^ "College Football All-America Team 2012". SB Nation. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  10. ^ "Tulane Kicker Cairo Santos wins Lou Groza Award". Nola. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
  11. ^ "Cairo Santos Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  12. ^ "Cairo Santos, Tulane, K, 2014 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  13. ^ "Chiefs Sign Webb and Three Rookie Free Agents". KCChiefs,com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  14. ^ "Chiefs rookie kicker Cairo Santos makes history for Brazil". KansasCity.com.
  15. ^ "Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers - October 19th, 2014". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  16. ^ "St. Louis Rams at Kansas City Chiefs - October 26th, 2014". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  17. ^ "Most points by a rookie Chiefs". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
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  21. ^ a b c d "ALL-TIME RECORDS" (PDF). kcchiefs.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 September 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  22. ^ "Brasileiro acerta tudo e ajuda os Chiefs a chegar à semi de conferência da NFL". globoesporte.com (in Portuguese). 9 January 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2016.
  23. ^ "Divisional Round - Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots - January 16th, 2016". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  24. ^ "NFL faz correção, e Cairo Santos tem confirmado recorde pessoal na carreira". globoesporte.com (in Portuguese). 22 September 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  25. ^ "Watch Cairo Santos bank in unbelievable winner off upright as Chiefs stun Broncos in OT". foxsports.com. 13 November 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  26. ^ "Marcus Mariota, Kirk Cousins among Players of Month". nfl.com. 1 December 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  27. ^ Kissel, BJ (26 September 2017). "Chiefs Place Kicker Cairo Santos on Injured Reserve, Sign Harrison Butker". Chiefs.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  28. ^ Smith, Michael David (30 September 2017). "Chiefs rule out Dee Ford and Mitch Morse, waive Cairo Santos". ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com.
  29. ^ Mayer, Larry (20 November 2017). "Roster Moves: Santos replaces Barth as Bears kicker". ChicagoBears.com. Archived from the original on 23 November 2017. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  30. ^ "Bears-Eagles: Recap, social media reaction". ChicagoTribune.com. 26 November 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  31. ^ Mayer, Larry (4 December 2017). "Nugent replaces injured Santos as Bears kicker". ChicagoBears.com. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  32. ^ Lange, Randy (15 March 2018). "Jets Sign Placekicker Cairo Santos". NewYorkJets.com. Archived from the original on 18 March 2018. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  33. ^ Allen, Eric (22 August 2018). "Jets Release K Cairo Santos". NewYorkJets.com.
  34. ^ Simmons, Myles (2 October 2018). "Rams Sign K Cairo Santos". TheRams.com.
  35. ^ "Signed this week, Rams kicker Cairo Santos gets a game-winning moment". ESPN. 8 October 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  36. ^ Simmons, Myles (16 October 2018). "Rams Sign WR Nick Williams, Cut K Cairo Santos". TheRams.com. Retrieved 17 October 2018.
  37. ^ Smith, Scott (12 November 2018). "Cairo Santos Takes Over as Bucs' New Kicker". Buccaneers.com.
  38. ^ "Buccaneers' Cairo Santos: Perfect in team debut". cbssports.com. 19 November 2018.
  39. ^ "Buccaneers' Cairo Santos: Regains confidence in Week 15 loss". cbssports.com. 17 December 2018.
  40. ^ Smith, Scott (13 March 2019). "Bucs Bring Back Kicker Cairo Santos". Buccaneers.com.
  41. ^ Smith, Scott (31 August 2019). "Spence, Santos Among Final Cuts to Get Bucs' Roster to 53". Buccaneers.com.
  42. ^ Wyatt, Jim (4 September 2019). "Titans Add Kicker Cairo Santos, Place Ryan Succop on Injured Reserve". TitansOnline.com.
  43. ^ Wyatt, Jim (9 September 2019). "Six Things That Stood Out For Titans in Win Over Browns". TitansOnline.com.
  44. ^ Michael David Smith (6 October 2019). "Cairo Santos goes 0-for-4 as Titans lose winnable game to Bills". ProFootballTalk.NBCSports.com. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  45. ^ Wyatt, Jim (7 October 2019). "Titans Release Kicker Cairo Santos, OL David Quessenberry". TitansOnline.com. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  46. ^ Mayer, Larry (25 August 2020). "Roster Moves: Bears sign Santos, Wesley". Chicago Bears. Retrieved 25 August 2020.
  47. ^ Alper, Josh (5 September 2020). "Bears release Cairo Santos". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  48. ^ Mayer, Larry (6 September 2020). "Roster Moves: Bears sign 16 to practice squad". Chicago Bears. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  49. ^ Mayer, Larry (12 September 2020). "Roster Moves: Bears activate Santos from practice squad". Chicago Bears. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  50. ^ Biggs, Brad (16 September 2020). "Chicago Bears sign kicker Cairo Santos to the 53-man roster, creating a 3rd open spot on the practice squad". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  51. ^ Crabtree, Curtis (8 October 2020). "Late Cairo Santos field goal lifts Bears to 20-19 victory over Buccaneers". Profootballtalk.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  52. ^ Wiederer, Dan (21 October 2020). "Chicago Bears kicker Cairo Santos named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  53. ^ Gordon, Grant (7 January 2021). "Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, Bills QB Josh Allen among Players of the Month". www.nfl.com. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  54. ^ Lieser, Jason (3 January 2021). "Bears kicker Cairo Santos makes 27 straight FGs to finish top kicking season in team history". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 12 January 2021.
  55. ^ Biggs, Brad (11 March 2021). "Chicago Bears reward Cairo Santos with a new 5-year, $16 million contract after the kicker's record-setting season". ChicagoTribune.com. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  56. ^ Mayer, Larry (11 March 2021). "Roster Move: Bears agree to extension with Santos". ChicagoBears.com. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  57. ^ "Most field goals made, no misses, game". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  58. ^ "Most points by a kicker, game Chiefs". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  59. ^ "Most FG made game Chiefs". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  60. ^ "Most FG made game playoffs Chiefs". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  61. ^ "Most FG made, no misses, game Chiefs". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  62. ^ "Most FG attempted game Chiefs". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  63. ^ "Most FG 50+ yards season". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  64. ^ "Most games 2+ FG season Chiefs". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  65. ^ "Highest FG percentage Chiefs". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  66. ^ a b Allardyce, Michael (3 January 2021). "Cairo Santos sets two Bears' field goals record". www.nbcsports.com. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  67. ^ Biggs, Brad (7 January 2021). "Kicker Cairo Santos — who ended the regular season with 2 Chicago Bears records — named NFC special teams player of the month". www.chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  68. ^ "Após superar morte do pai, paulista quer ser o primeiro '100% brasileiro' a jogar na NFL". ESPN.
  69. ^ "Em rodada com homenagens à Chape e neve, Brady se torna QB mais vitorioso da história". espn.uol.com.br (in Portuguese). 4 December 2016. Retrieved 6 December 2016.

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