Chicago Bears’ Kicker Competition Down To Chris Blewitt and Elliott Fry

By Jordan Long

The Chicago Bears held a rookie minicamp from May 3^rd to the 5^th.  This was a chance for all the rookies drafted and undrafted to work with the coaching staff.  The Bears decided to hold a field goal competition.  They let go of Cody Parkey on March 13^th.  This was after he missed 7 field goals in the regular season.  Parky also hit the upright in the final moments of the Wild-Card playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles which gave the Eagles a 16-15 victory.

                The Bears decided to have 8 kickers lineup and try to make a 43-yard field goal, the same distance Parky missed in the postseason.  The results were awful.  They went 2-8 or a make percentage of 25%, not what the Bears had envisioned.

                According to ESPN, Head Coach Matt Nagy said, “That’s not good enough. Now I will say this: We always look at the end result of what happens, which is 100 percent what matters, right? But as we’re learning, two of those eight holds and snaps, it wasn’t 100 percent. All right. I’ll leave it at that.”

                Chicago cut down the 8 to 2 who are still under contract with the team, Chris Blewitt and Elliott Fry.  Blewitt hasn’t played a single down in the NFL.  In his college career at the University of Pittsburgh from 2013 to 2016, he was not a reliable kicker.  He was 55 of 79 or a make percentage of 69.6% with a long of 56 yards.

                Fry was a little better than Blewitt when he played for the University of South Carolina from 2013 to 2016.  He made 75% of his kicks with a long of 55 yards.

                For now, these kickers have a chance to make the team.  They will show what they can do in minicamp with the whole team on June 11^th through the 13^th.  If both of them are still on the team, they will move on to training camp in late July and play in preseason games. 

                This is a chance for both Blewitt and Fry to show off their leg and accuracy.  The Bears can’t have a kicker who misses field goals because that will cost them games like it did last year.  If both of them struggle, there is the possibility the Bears will bring in a veteran to help the kicking game.  For now Blewitt and Fry are under contract, hoping to keep their NFL dream alive.