The 2025 Chicago Bears season was one for the ages.

Chicago took a major step in head coach Ben Johnson’s first season. The team elevated itself to one of the best in the NFL after finishing 5-12 the previous year. It resulted in the franchise’s first playoff berth since 2020, first NFC North title since 2018 and first playoff win since the 2010 playoffs.

The Bears did it in dramatic fashion, too. They had seven comeback wins after they trailed with two minutes left in the game, earning themselves the “Cardiac Bears” nickname.

Chicago will now try to build off of a great season. Bears general manager Ryan Poles and Johnson will need to make some tough roster decisions this offseason as the Bears try to take another step closer to being Super Bowl contenders next year.

Over the next few weeks, Shaw Local will evaluate how each position group did over the past season and start looking toward the offseason. Here’s a look at the special teams room.

Special teams

Returning players: Cairo Santos (kicker), Tory Taylor (punter), Josh Blackwell (returner), Luther Burden III (returner), Luke Elkin (long snapper)

Free agents: Devin Duvernay (returner), Scott Daly (long snapper)

Looking back: The Bears’ special teams played a major role in the team’s success this season. Different players stepped up in key moments to lead some of those comeback wins.

Santos had his most inconsistent season during his time with Chicago. He missed two games early in the season due to injury and dealt with some accuracy issues as well, hitting 83.3% of his field goal attempts. Fans also grew frustrated with Santos as kickers around the NFL hit on field goals from longer distances while Santos attempted just six kicks from over 50 yards. Despite that, he broke the Bears’ record with kicks made from 50 yards or more.

But Santos proved to be valuable in key situations for the Bears. Santos knocked in a 48-yard field goal as time expired to beat the Minnesota Vikings in Week 11. He only missed one kick since that moment for the rest of the season and playoffs and made critical kicks as the weather conditions became worse at Soldier Field in December and January. Santos made all six of his attempts in both comeback wins against the Green Bay Packers.

He also incorporated more “dirty kicks” on kickoffs, which created favorable starting positions for the Bears defense deep in opponents’ territory.

Duvernay was a playmaker as a returner in his first season with Chicago. He finished fifth in the NFL with 1,069 kickoff return yards and averaged 26.7 per return, while he ended the year in the middle of the pack with 231 punt return yards. The biggest return of the season came against the Vikings in Week 11, when he returned a kickoff 56 yards to set up the game-winning field goal.

Taylor continued to be a weapon at times but didn’t do so at a consistent enough level as a former fourth-round pick. He averaged 47.8 yards per punt, which ranked 11th in the league. But Taylor pinned opponents inside their own 20-yard line 21 times, which was tied for 21st. Taylor improved his punting average by .1 compared to his rookie season and had 13 fewer punts downed inside opponents’ 20.

Blackwell returned 18 kickoffs for 455 yards but made big plays on special teams in other ways. He blocked the Las Vegas Raiders’ go-ahead field attempts in the final minute in Week 4 and recovered an onside kick late against the Packers in Week 16. Burden showed of his big-play ability at times with eight kickoff returns for 233 yards.

Daly played in every game this season and didn’t show issues in his second full season with the Bears. Kicker Jake Moody stepped in when Santos was injured and made a game-winning field goal against the Washington Commanders in Week 6.

What’s next: Poles will need to make a few tough decisions this offseason in regards to the special teams room.

One of the biggest questions will be whether the Bears make a change at kicker. Santos doesn’t have the strongest leg in the league, which forces the Bears to leave some points on the board even when they get into opponents’ territory. Poles signed Santos to a four-year extension in 2023, and he’ll have a $3.76 million salary cap hit next year, according to Spotrac.

But Santos proved his worth in key situations during the playoff run. He made key kicks in tough conditions to help the Bears have a memorable run. The Bears could find that more valuable than longer kicks.

“Cairo is respected by his peers in this league,” special teams coordinator Richard Hightower said. “Everybody knows how good Cairo really is. I’m proud of his resilience. I’m proud of the way he battles. But I’m also proud that he’s not satisfied, because he knows the next kick is his most important kick.”

Chicago will also need to decide whether it wants to bring back Duvernay. Poles will evaluate who becomes available throughout the offseason. But if he doesn’t like what he sees, Duvernay will be a strong contender to return.

The Bears are expected to make changes at punter given the draft capital they invested in Taylor. Daly is also likely to return as the team’s long snapper.