Photo: U.S. Air National Guard Senior Airman Bruce Jenkins, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons²

Cairo Santos

Place Kicker, Chicago Bears · #8.

Player facts

Team: Chicago Bears
Position: Place Kicker
Number: 8
Born: Nov 12, 1991 (age 34)
Birthplace: Saint Augustine, FL, USA
Height: 5' 8"
Weight: 173 lbs
College: Tulane
Experience: 13 seasons
Status: Active

Stats

2026 Kicking

	FG%	FG	1-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+	AVG	LNG	XPM	XPA	PTS
Regular Season	77.8	7-9	0-0	2-3	2-2	2-3	1-1	0	50	14	14	35
Last 5 Games	70.0	7-9	0-0	2-3	2-2	2-3	1-1	50	14	14	35
Career	85.0	273-321	2-2	70-73	89-95	78-100	34-51	36	55	360	376	1179

Recent games

Date	Opponent	Result	1-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+	FG	FG%	LNG	XP	PTS
Sun, Oct 11	@ GB	L 31-7	0-0	0-0	0-0	0-1	0-0	0-1	0.0	0	1-1	1
Sun, Oct 4	vs NYJ	W 23-12	0-0	1-1	2-2	0-0	0-0	3-3	100.0	30	2-2	11
Mon, Sep 28	vs PHI	W 27-7	0-0	1-1	0-0	1-1	0-0	2-2	100.0	48	3-3	9
Sun, Sep 20	vs MIN	L 9-3	0-0	0-1	0-0	0-0	1-1	1-2	50.0	50	0-0	3
Sun, Sep 13	@ CAR	W 59-37	0-0	0-0	0-0	1-1	0-0	1-1	100.0	40	8-8	11

Last 5 games. Click a game for its box score.

About

Cairo Fernandes Santos (KYE-roh SAN-tohs, SAWN-; born 12 November 1991) is a Brazilian-American professional American football placekicker for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tulane Green Wave, and was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2014.

Santos spent parts of his first four seasons in the NFL with the Chiefs, before being released partway in the 2017 season. Between 2017 and 2019, he had brief stints with the Chicago Bears, New York Jets, Los Angeles Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Tennessee Titans. In 2020, he was reacquired by the Bears and has remained with them since.

He is the first Brazilian-born player in NFL history.

From Wikipedia’s article on Cairo Santos, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.¹

Background

Early life

Born in Limeira, in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, Santos was raised in Brasília, 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. 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.

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 (C-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 (81.3%), 32 of his 33 PATs (97%), and handling kickoff duties. In his sophomore season, Santos played in all 13 games and finished second on the team in scoring, making 11 of 18 field goals (61.1%) and 33 of 34 PATs (97.1%) while handling kickoffs and punting duties, averaging 41 yards a punt.

2012 was a breakout season for Santos as he went 26 of 27 (96.3%) on PATs (his only miss was blocked) and 21 of 21 (100%) on field goals, including a school record 57-yard field goal. His 21 made field goals without a miss set an NCAA Division I record that still stands as of 2026. 12 of those field goals were from 40-plus yards and 2 from 50-plus, and 31 of his 55 kickoffs (56.4%) went for touchbacks. At the end of the season, Santos was named consensus All-American and received the Lou Groza Award for the nation's most outstanding placekicker.

Santos went on to compete in the 2014 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, where he connected on a 39-yard field goal.

Personal life

On 15 September 2013, Santos' father died in a plane crash in Brazil. "I used to talk to my dad every day, 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."

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.

Santos is a naturalized US citizen.

From Wikipedia’s article on Cairo Santos, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the full article.¹