Chicago Bears training camp is just around the corner, which means it’s time to start looking ahead at the roster the team is bringing to Lake Forest this month.
Rookies and quarterbacks are set to report to Halas Hall on July 25 with veterans following on July 28. But before that, we're unveiling our Bears 2026 training camp position previews, where we're breaking down every player by position and examining the biggest question facing the group.
We're wrapping things up with special teams, which will feature the return of kicker Cairo Santos and Tory Taylor. But with Chicago allowing Scott Daly to walk this offseason, they'll have a competition at long snapper between two inexperienced youngsters.
K Cairo Santos
Cairo Santos was a controversial player in Chicago
last season, where at one point some fans were ready to move on with Jake Moody, who stepped in for a couple games in Santos' absence. While Santos has brought stability to the kicker position that wasn't there since Robbie Gould, he's not exactly a modern NFL kicker known for his leg strength. In 2025, Santos connected on 25-for-30 field goals and all 39 extra point attempts. His 83.3% field goal percentage was the lowest since joining the Bears although he made all of his extra points for his first time with Chicago. Santos came through with some clutch kicks to force overtime, win games or even put the Bears in a position to win, especially in the swirling winds of Soldier Field. But, at some point, you have to wonder with his inability to connect on long field goals (now a regularity in the NFL) when will the team move on.
P Tory Taylor
GM Ryan Poles took a swing on punter Tory Taylor in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but after two years he's yet to live up to his draft stock. In theory, drafting someone with the ability to flip the field and change games is a solid move. But Taylor just hasn't been able to consistently do that, and certainly not for the price of a fourth-round pick. Quarterback Caleb Williams finally made good on his promise that Taylor wouldn't see the field much as he had 22 less punts in 2025 compared to his rookie season. Taylor had a long of 69 yards while kicking 21 inside the 20-yard line and totaling seven touchbacks. But there needs to be more consistency.
LS Luke Elkin
Luke Elkin, an undrafted free agent in 2025, spent last season with Chicago's practice squad, and he has experience playing with punter Tory Taylor at Iowa. It's hard not to feel that Elkin has the upper hand going into this long snapper competition given his experience playing with Taylor for three years at Iowa (2021-23), and the pair already have that working relationship down. But he'll still have to beat out his competition.
LS Beau Gardner
Rookie Beau Gardner signed with the Bears as an undrafted free agent this offseason, and he'll immediately find himself immersed in a competition for the starting long snapper job. Gardner is coming off six seasons in college and having just won the Patrick Mannelly Award as the nation's top long snapper. He'll face an uphill battle contending with Luke Elkin, who played with punter Tory Taylor back in college. But the job is there for the taking.
Big Question: What does Cairo Santos' future look like beyond 2026?
While there's a long snapper competition to be determined between first-year pro Luke Elkin and undrafted rookie Beau Gardner, that's not the biggest questions heading into this season. That would be kicker Cairo Santos' future beyond the 2026 season. Santos signed a four year, $15.9 million contract extension back in Dec. 2023, so he still has two years left on his current deal. While there's been plenty of speculation about the Bears potentially moving on from the veteran kicker, they haven't brought in any real substantial competition for him. Jake Moody might've been the closest to real competition, and he filled in valiantly when Santos missed a couple games last season. But Chicago appears content with Santos, at least for the time being. We'll see if that changes in the near future.
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears training camp preview: Competition on special teams
