The following is the last of nine position previews in advance of training camp.

All three Bears specialists — kicker Cairo Santos, punter Tory Taylor and long snapper Scott Daly — are returning this season.

A 12th-year pro, Santos is coming off a 2024 season where he set a Bears single-season record for most field goals of 50+ yards in a season (8), which included a 51-yarder as time expired in the season finale to give the Bears a 24-22 win over the Packers in Green Bay.

Santos has appeared in 150 career games with the Chiefs (2014-17), Bears (2017, 2020-24), Rams (2018), Buccaneers (2018) and Titans (2019). He's accumulated 1,030 points on 241 made field goals and 307 extra points.

Taylor is coming off a rookie season where he recorded the highest net punting average in Bears history (47.7 yards) among those with at least 50 punts. He finished the year with 82 punts, 34 of which landed inside the 20-yard line, which were tied for the fourth most in the NFL.

He earned NFC Special Teams Player of the Week after his Week 4 performance against the Rams, where he had five punts downed inside the 20, including four downed inside the 10.

While Daly served as the starting long snapper in all 17 games in 2024, he didn't join the Bears until Aug. 29 after spending training camp with the Lions.

Daly spent the the 2018 offseason with the Cowboys before stints the AAF and XFL. He then joined the Lions and played in 42 games for Detroit from 2021-24.

"Cairo being the veteran of veterans in that group, consummate pro, always wants to work, always wants to get better at his craft," special teams coordinator Richard Hightower said. "He has some things that he wants to reach this year. He's got a chip on his shoulder. And Tory as well. Even though he broke the record last year, they both did … they're both still irritated that they didn't finish as best as we could, in terms of things that they can get better at. And in terms of more kicks, more punts, more things that can help the team win.

"And then Scott's fitting in well. Scott's doing a good job. I'm excited about having all three of those guys back and excited about the young guys we've got in. Good competition brings the best out in all of us."

The Bears added kicker Jonathan Kim and long snapper Luke Elkin as undrafted rookies. Kim played two seasons at Michigan State (2023-24) after four seasons at North Carolina (2019-22) and with the best field goal percentage in Spartans history (82.1, 32-of-39).

"Kim is a rookie, but he has good experience," Hightower said. "He has six years of collegiate kicking and some of those years are in inclement weather conditions … What I see with this kid is a really mature kid, that already has a routine, that already has a plan."

Elkin played collegiately at Iowa (2021-24), handling long snapping duties all four of his years with the Hawkeyes, totaling 53 appearances.

"He snaps a really accurate ball, both long and short snaps," Hightower said. "This kid has a chance to be good at both and he still has some areas that we need to work on, like with all rookies. and he's aware of that stuff that he needs to work on to have an opportunity to have a chance to compete.

Players who will compete for spots in the return game include new receivers Olamide Zaccheaus and Devin Duvernay as well as returning third-year pro Tyler Scott.

Zaccheaus enters his seventh NFL season, appearing in 89 games with the Falcons (2019-22), Eagles (2023) and Commanders (2024). He holds a 10.8-yard average on 20 career punt returns, 17 of which came last season in Washington. He finished 2024 with the NFC's second highest punt return average of 10.9 yards per return.

A sixth-year pro, Duvernay has played in 72 career games with the Ravens (2020-23) and Jaguars (2024). He's tallied 88 punt returns for 1,053 yards and has taken back 87 kickoffs for 2,162 yards with two scores. Duvernay has been selected to to the Pro Bowl twice and was named a 2021 AP First-Team All-Pro honoree as a return specialist.

Scott returned eight kicks for 207 yards in 2024, including a season high 36-yard return the Week 18 win over the Packers. As a rookie in 2023, Scott recorded five kick returns for 108 yards.

The Bears also return five key members of the special teams coverage units in 2025: cornerback Josh Blackwell, defensive end Daniel Hardy, linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga, safety Elijah Hicks and running back Travis Homer.

Blackwell inked a two-year extension with the Bears this spring after growing into a major special teams contributor in 2024. The Week 18 NFC Special Teams Player of the Week capped off his third NFL season with a 94-yard punt return touchdown on a trick play against the Packers in the season finale.

"That whole game was about the city, the organization and how special that win would be for us," Hightower said, "especially at a time when we needed it the most. It just shows what kind of fighter, what kind of competitor and how much resilience that Josh has even when the cards could be stacked against him. The true test of a man, a true test of Josh is that play, how much adversity he battled through to even be in that spot."

The fourth-year pro served as the Bears punt returner during the final five weeks of the 2024 season and in 43 career games, has totaled 15 tackles, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery on special teams.

Hardy registered 11 tackles, tying for the team lead on special teams. He played in over 80% of all special teams snaps and added a both a blocked punt that safety Jonathan Owens returned for a touchdown in the Bears' Week 1 win over the Titans as well as a forced fumble.

Hardy has played in 23 career games with the Rams (2022) and Bears (2023-24).

Hicks and Homer were also consistent contributors on special teams, adding six special teams tackles each. Hicks, the Bears' 2022 seventh-round selection out of California, enters his fourth NFL season while Homer approaches his seventh year in the league and third in Chicago.

Ogbongbemiga tied Hardy with 11 special teams tackles and also played 80% of the unit's snaps in 2024. He has made 64 appearances with the Chargers (2021-23) and Bears (2024).