John Fox: Evaluating Bears' Kicking Game 'A Big Part Of Our Decision' For Week 12
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Bears coach John Fox acknowledged the team will evaluate whether to bring in a new kicker after Connor Barth badly missed a potentially game-tying field goal against the Lions in a 27-24 loss on Sunday, but he stopped short of saying Barth's time with the team is up.
"Like everything, you're always trying to improve,"Fox told WBBM Newsradio's Josh Liss on Monday morning. "Again, to change, you want to feel like you get better. So we'll evaluate that, and make that a big part of our decision."
The Bears have been evaluating different kicking options all season, including a training camp audition of 2016 second-round pick Roberto Aguayo. Last week, they tried out former Chiefs kicker Cairo Santos at Halas Hall but stuck with Barth.
Barth has been among the worst kickers in the league this year, hitting only 11 of 16 field goal attempts. Only two other kickers on current rosters – Phil Dawson in Arizona and Zane Gonzalez in Cleveland – have lower field goal percentages.
Meanwhile, Fox said he's seen continued improvement from rookie quarterback Mitchell Trubisky in each of his six starts.
"He's going to continue to improve, and now with getting some guys back this week will help," Fox said. "As he starts offensively getting the guys around him that will be the same a couple weeks in a row definitely helps his development."
Tight end Dion Sims has missed the past two weeks with an undisclosed illness. Linebacker Danny Trevathan also has missed the past two games with a leg injury, and cornerback Bryce Callahan has missed two games with a knee injury.
The Bears (3-7) might have another big loss on the defensive side of the ball after linebacker Leonard Floyd went down with what appeared to be a serious knee injury against the Lions.
"Anytime you go off on a cart, it's usually fairly serious," Fox said.
Floyd was expected to undergo an MRI exam on Monday.
You can listen to Fox's full interview at the top of the page.