Report: Bears to add another kicker to mix

The Bears didn’t use one of their five draft picks on a kicker over the weekend, but they still took steps to advance the competition at a position that has been unstable since they cut Robbie Gould in 2016.

Not long after the seventh round concluded Saturday, San Diego State kicker John Baron II tweeted a photo of himself wearing a Bears hat, and Kohl’s Kicking Camps confirmed on Twitter that Baron was signing with the Bears as an undrafted free agent.

The Bears also reportedly are bringing in Minnesota kicker Emmit Carpenter and McNeese State kicker/punter Alex Kjellsten to next weekend’s rookie minicamp, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press and the McNeese athletic department.

Bears general manager Ryan Pace didn’t confirm the moves at his postdraft news conference but acknowledged they were augmenting the competition to replace recently cut Cody Parkey.

They previously signed kickers Redford Jones, Chris Blewitt and Elliott Fry this offseason. None of the three has NFL game experience, though Fry kicked in the short-lived Alliance of American Football this spring.

“Maybe it’s a little unorthodox to have four kickers out there,” Pace said. “We don’t care. Let’s increase the competition and let’s let the whole thing battle out. We’re unbiased on it. Our eyes are wide open. If we need to add a veteran, we’re going to do whatever we can to get that situation right. We know the importance of it, and that’s why we’re attacking it in such an aggressive manner.”

Only two kickers were drafted Saturday. Utah’s Matt Gay went in the fifth round to the Buccaneers, and Oklahoma’s Austin Seibert went in the fifth round to the Browns.

Pace said the Bears had considered using one of their picks on the position, but their draft board fell toward other players.