Former Chiefs kicker Cairo Santos lands with New York Jets

The New York Jets have signed Cairo Santos to a one-year deal, giving the former Chiefs kicker an extended tryout to remain with Todd Bowles’ team.

Cairo Santos now has a firm place to stand, er kick, after signing a one-year deal with the New York Jets. a rollercoaster of a year that saw him go from being ousted due to injury to earning a short-term gig to hitting free agency.

Santos was, less than 12 months ago, the starting (and only) kicker on the Kansas City Chiefs. Coming into the 2017 NFL season, Santos was finding his stride, having just enjoyed the most accurate season in his three-year NFL career. In 2016, Santos had made nearly 89 percent of all field goal attempts for K.C., including going 2 for 2 beyond the 50-yard line. At the age of 26, Santos had every reason to believe he would be a fixture for the Chiefs for at least another year and a likely candidate for an extension.

Unfortunately, a groin injury plagued Santos in the preseason that kept him out. The Chiefs turned to Sam Ficken to fill the void, who did just fine, but Santos took his job back as expected in the final week of the preseason. He even opened the season by going 3 for 3 on FG attempts and looked like the Santos of old. Then he tweaked the same injury and the Chiefs knew Santos would be out for quite some time.

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That’s when new general manager Brett Veach grabbed Harrison Butker away from the Carolina Panthers practice squad, a kicker prospect who Dave Toub said was atop his rankings of incoming options—in case the Chiefs happened to be interested. Toub was right. While Santos was accurate, he never had a single season like Butker delivered (who not only tied for the most field goals in 2017 despite missing the first few games but he also had a 90.5% completion percentage).

At first, Santos was placed on injured reserve, but eventually he was set free when it was clear Butker was a young new fixtures on a cost-controlled deal. Santos found a temporary gig with the Chicago Bears for a couple games, but he now has a new platform to start over after a nice three-year stretch with the Chiefs.

Assuming he’s healthy, the Jets should enjoy a steady, reliable presence on special teams with Santos there. If not for a rare story for the Chiefs last year, Santos would likely still be in K.C.