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For Bears elder statesman Cairo Santos, dealing with kicking struggles never gets easier

Related Topics: Cairo Santos, Richard Hightower

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

It never gets any easier.

That’s what Cairo Santos tells young kickers who ask how he deals with the ups and downs of a profession in which he’s become one of the NFL’s elder statesmen.

At 34, Santos is the oldest Bear and the fifth-oldest kicker in the league. He’s in his 12th season. When he makes a mistake, though, the frustration doesn’t dissipate any faster than it used to.

“I feel just how I felt in Year 1, Year 2, where it bothers you the same,” Santos, who was voted a captain last week, told the Sun-Times.