Cairo Santos
Chicago Bears
Season Preview
Cairo Santos enters the 2026 fantasy football season as a steady, low-drama kicker option in Chicago. CBS Sports projects him as a high-end streaming kicker because he is expected to play in one of the NFL’s higher-scoring offenses, and he backed that up in 2025 by converting 25 of 30 field goals and all 39 extra points across 15 games.
From a fantasy perspective, Santos offers a fairly reliable floor rather than elite week-winning upside. FantasyPros notes that he tied for 15th among kickers in fantasy points per game last season at 8.8, and its 2026 projection pegs him for 31 field goals, 42.8 extra points, and 135.8 total fantasy points. That kind of profile works best in leagues where you want stability and access to frequent scoring chances, especially if Chicago’s offense stays efficient in the red zone.
The biggest thing to monitor is health and usage, not a team change. The available recent sources still list Santos as the Bears’ kicker, and Fantasy Football Calculator’s season notes mention that he dealt with injuries and kicker controversy earlier in the year before finishing stronger. There is no indication in these sources that he has been traded, released, or signed elsewhere, so his 2026 value still appears tied to Chicago’s offense and how often it stalls in field-goal range.
For draft purposes, Santos is a sensible late-round or waiver-wire target rather than a priority pick. He fits best as a matchup-based starter in favorable scoring environments, and his value rises if the Bears remain a productive offense that generates plenty of kicking volume.