Bears to sign veteran kicker Michael Badgley

Michael Badgley‘s two-workout week will produce a gig. The Bears are adding the veteran kicker Saturday, according to his agent.

Joining Josh Lambo and Brian Johnson in working out for the Bears on Friday, Badgley may soon be in position to kick with his new team. Cairo Santos was away from the team Thursday and Friday for personal reasons. With the Bears not having a kicker on their practice squad, they needed to scan the market quickly.

This will be Badgley’s first gig since last season, when he kicked in 12 games for the Colts. The former Chargers primary option began his 2021 slate with the Titans, but they moved on after one game. Badgley, 27, still found his way to Indianapolis after Rodrigo Blankenship‘s injury. After missing a Week 1 field goal in Tennessee and misfiring on an extra point, Badgley was better as a Colt. He went 18-of-21 on field goals and 39-of-39 on PATs during his Indy stay.

The Bears have Santos signed to a three-year, $9M deal, one that runs through the 2024 season. Santos, 30, has been Chicago’s primary kicker since 2020. Badgley also worked out for the Chiefs this week, but Kansas City went with Matthew Wright as its latest Harrison Butker fill-in option.