Aug. 18 (UPI) -- The Chicago Bears waived Elliott Fry, leaving fellow kicker Eddy Pineiro as the current winner of the team's hotly-contested kicking competition.
The team announced Sunday that Fry was cut, a move that leaves Pineiro as the only kicker on the roster. Fry and Pineiro competed against each other for the starting job since the Bears opened training camp on July 26.
"Both kickers for us have done a really good job at really competing," Bears head coach Matt Nagy said in a statement. "It wasn't an easy decision for us. The thing that we liked about both of them was they both did a lot better than where we thought they were in OTAs.
"It was collaborative between all of us as a group -- [general manager] Ryan [Pace], myself and obviously our special teams coaches. We wish Elliott the best and we'll move forward here with Eddy."
Nagy said Pineiro earned the opportunity to handle all kicks in practices and games over the last two weeks of the preseason.
"The biggest thing is what it enables us to do now with two preseason games left is get more kicks essentially," Nagy said. "Now you're not splitting reps in the preseason game and then I think, too, there's a little bit of the mental mindset as well for Eddy."
The Bears acquired Pineiro in a trade with the Oakland Raiders on May 7. He went 2-for-2 on field goals in Chicago's preseason game against the New York Giants on Friday.
Chicago has searched for a new kicker since the franchise released Cody Parkey after last season. He missed eight kicks in 2018, including a 43-yard field goal at the conclusion of the Bears' 16-15 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the playoffs.
