Bears star warns Soldier Field ‘will expose you’ as team plots $4.7bn escape from NFL’s oldest stadium

Cairo Santos faces the Los Angeles Rams knowing full well that one swing of his boot could send the Chicago Bears into the NFC Championship game.

The veteran kicker was 3-of-3 from field goals in a Wild Card win over the Green Bay Packers as Caleb Williams spearheaded a remarkable comeback.

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Conditions are set to be cold and blustery with 18 mph gusts buffering Soldier Field — the NFL‘s oldest stadium.

You would be forgiven for thinking a kicker of all people would prefer playing in a domed arena as the Bears consider a $4.7 billion relocation.

But the 34-year-old credits the 102-year-old Bears HQ for making him the player he is today having finally found a home after years of bouncing around the NFL — a familiar path for many in his position.

“I felt like when I came here in 2020, I was at a point in my career that I really needed this joining with the Bears to be something that would elevate my career. Or I knew the difficulty of kicking in Chicago could be something that could end my career,” he told talkSPORT.

“And I think embracing the elements here, the cold, the wind, the grass usually gets beat up more than these perfect indoor surfaces. And I think all those elements made me strive for a level of player that I don’t think I would have been able to achieve had I played in a dome or in a better weather place earlier in my career.

“So I’m very thankful that I embraced this and it’s just been part of my process to just go out, and I have to deal with a challenge this week. I have to be locked in and bring my A player. I talk about bringing my A player every single day at practice because when you’re a B player out there, those elements will expose you.”

The Bears are hoping to be in their new Arlington Heights home in time for the 2029 season as lawmakers scramble to see off a shock rival bid from Indiana.

Santos will turn 38 during that campaign, and hinted he could try and hang on just long enough to see the Bears into their new home.

“I don’t think I’ll be around by the time that dome gets built, but I’m hoping that I get to see that as a player,” he added.

“But in the meantime, it’s something I’ve embraced and I really enjoyed the elements in that challenge. So there’s a side of me that just doesn’t want to leave that because it’s been so helpful for me and I do enjoy it.

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“I think I could do it physically, play to near 40s. So it’s definitely going to be a challenge. But if I can see the stadium being built, that’ll give me more motivation to keep going.”

The Bears are two wins away from Super Bowl LX, which fans can watch here.

Santos’ Rams counterpart Harrison Mevis — nicknamed the thiccer kicker — is used to kicking indoors at SoFi Stadium.

He now heads to the Windy City in January, looking to keep alive his team’s bid for a second Super Bowl triumph on Californian soil in four years at Levi’s Stadium.

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Ben Johnson’s appointment as head coach has proven to be a masterstroke by Chicago, and Williams is starting to show why he was the first overall pick in 2024.

There is a long way to go to match the 1985 Bears — one of the most dominant football teams ever.

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But things are trending up on the field and with the franchise set to own its stadium for the first time ever, there is plenty of room for growth.

That will not be limited to the United States. Chicago is hosting a watch party for the Rams game in London as part of a masterplan to win fans all over the world.

For the last four years, the Bears have been making an impact in communities across the UK, giving over 10,000 young people the opportunity to try or experience football for the first time.

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