The following is the ninth of nine position previews in advance of training camp.
Many of the special teams players who made key contributions in helping the Bears win the NFC North last season return in 2026.
That list is topped by kicker Cairo Santos, who earned three game balls from coach Ben Johnson in 2025 after thrilling comeback wins over the Raiders, Vikings and Packers.
The first came in Las Vegas after he made all four field goals he attempted from 46, 43, 52 and 51 yards in a 25-24 victory. The second came in Minnesota after Santos drilled a 48-yard field goal as time expired to give the Bears a 19-17 win.
Santos earned a third game ball and was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance Dec. 20 in a 22-16 overtime win over Green Bay at Soldier Field. In blustery conditions, he converted all three field goals he tried from 46, 51 and 43 yards and played a key role in the Bears rallying from a late 16-6 deficit. He closed the gap to 16-9 with his 43-yarder with 1:59 remaining, executed a perfect onside kick that teammate Josh Blackwell recovered and then drilled an extra point that tied the score 16-16 with :24 to play.
After making 25 of 30 field-goal attempts (83.3%) in 2025, Santos remains the most accurate kicker in Bears history, having made 88.3% of his kicks (159 of 180). In addition, his four field goals of 50-plus-yards increased his total to 25, eclipsing Robbie Gould's team record of 23.
Santos set another franchise mark with a 51-yarder in the divisional playoffs against the Rams that was the longest field goal in Bears postseason history, topping Gould's 49-yarder that beat the Seahawks 27-24 in overtime Jan. 14, 2007, at Soldier Field.
Santos also excelled by employing "dirty kickoffs." In a win over the Steelers, his first kickoff was a knuckleball that short-hopped Kenneth Gainwell, who muffed the ball. He recovered it but was tackled at his own 5. Santos' second kickoff bounced near the sideline at the 1 and caromed out of the side of the end zone for a touchback. Because the ball landed at the 1 and not in the end zone, the Steelers' drive started at the 20 instead of the 35.
Also returning this year is punter Tory Taylor. Last season the 2024 fourth-round pick broke his own Bears record with a gross average of 47.8 yards, topping the mark of 47.7 he had set as a rookie in 2024.
The Bears added two dynamic return specialists this offseason, signing free agent receiver Kalif Raymond and drafting receiver Zavion Thomas in the third round.
Over the past five seasons with the Lions, Raymond averaged 11.3 yards on 132 punt returns with three touchdowns, earning second-team All-Pro honors in 2022 and 2024. His 413 punt return yards were the most in the NFL in 2024 even though he only played 12 games.
"He is an outstanding talent, All-Pro returner … been really excited to see him work in the building," said special teams coordinator Richard Hightower. "Watching him from afar and then seeing him up close, you can see why he's had the success that he's had … he works his tail off and is a consummate pro.
"His ability to make the first man miss, it jumps off the tape. When we would play him twice a year, those weren't weeks that we slept well. We knew we had a good challenge every week we had to play them. That first step quickness that he has is unbelievable and … he's an aggressive returner. He wants to return the ball. He wants the ball in his hand."
Thomas also joins the Bears with impressive credentials. In four seasons at Mississippi State (2022-23) and LSU (2024-25), he averaged 9.7 yards with one TD on 60 punt returns and 27.2 yards with two TDs on 35 kickoff returns. He then boosted his draft stock by running a blistering 4.28 in the 40 at the NFL Combine.
"I like his speed on tape," Hightower said. "I like his natural instincts. I like his ability to catch the ball in traffic and his fearlessness … This is a player that catches the ball, looks natural and he's been doing it his whole life and he's eager to be great. One of his first questions he asked me was, 'Why, coach, do most rookies not succeed in the NFL; what holds people back?' That told me right there about his mindset."
Daniel Hardy returns after garnering league-wide attention last year when he led the Bears with 19 special teams tackles and was named a Pro Bowl alternate.
"It's crazy because you go to these combines and all that stuff, the first person [other special teams coordinators] talk about is Hardy, like, 'We've got to get us a '92,'" Hightower said. "[I'm] just happy about his progress. But much like our other guys, he's not satisfied."
Hardy was selected by the Rams in the seventh round of the 2022 draft out of Montana State. After spending most of his rookie season on injured reserve, he was waived by Los Angeles as part of final cuts in 2023 and signed with the Bears two days later.
"His teammates were proud of him for being a Pro Bowl alternate," Hightower said. "Growing and coming from a place where nobody in the league wanted him and he couldn't play, then now he's regarded by his peers as one of the better special teams players in the NFL."
Another special teams standout returns in cornerback Josh Blackwell, who continued to thrive in that role last season when he contributed directly to two comeback wins. He preserved the Bears' 25-24 victory over the Raiders by deflecting Daniel Carlson's 54-yard field goal attempt with 1:34 remaining.
In their scintillating 22-16 win over Green Bay, the Bears likely not have been able to force overtime if not for a huge play by Blackwell, who recovered an onside kick after Santos' 43-yard field goal had cut the deficit to 16-9 with 1:59 to play. Prior to Blackwell's play, only 8.5% of onside kicks (4 of 47) had been recovered by the kicking team during the NFL season.
Hightower is eager to see first-year pro Luke Elkin and undrafted rookie Beau Gardner battle for the long snapping job when the pads come on in training camp.
Elkin was with the Bears last summer in training camp and spent a few weeks on the Raiders practice squad late last season. At Iowa, he teamed with Taylor.
Gardner played six college seasons at UCLA (2020-23) and Georgia (2024-25), winning the Patrick Mannelly Award last year as the top long snapper in college football.
Evaluating long snappers starts with speed and accuracy, but there are other factors.
"Those things for sure. Then you have to consider the way they work with the other two players (the kicker and holder) because that's a team," Hightower said. "Those three together in operation, you have to make sure that's always flowing smoothly. Then you have to look at the punt piece of it too. That's two guys, the punter and the long snapper. And if they can protect or not. A lot of guys can snap a ball, but not [all of them] can protect. That's often the downfall of long snappers."
