LAKE FOREST, Ill. (670 The Score) -- A quarterback during his playing days and now an offensive-minded coach, Matt Nagy knows more about placekicking than he ever would've imagined. That's the byproduct of the Bears' kicking search throughout the offseason.
"I'm telling you, I feel like I'm an expert," Nagy said Tuesday. "I've never kicked ever in my life. I've never tried. I'd hurt myself. But, like, I've always been good with math and now it doesn't matter, the second a ball gets put on a certain yard line it's plus-18 and let's go. Right away in my head, I know where (the kick distance) is. The mentality of it too, I mean, it's a unique situation that we're all in."
The Bears began their search for a kicker in January with the first of many private competitions at Halas Hall. At one point, they had four kickers signed and held tryouts for at least eight players and perhaps even more. They'll have come to the end of their unconventional journey by the end of this weekend.
Currently, it's 23-year-old Eddy Pineiro left standing as the Bears' lone kicker. He is 5-of-6 in field goal attempts this preseason, including a 58-yarder against the Colts last Saturday. His competition lies not on the Bears' roster but in the kickers who potentially become available by this weekend as roster cutdowns are due by Saturday at 3 p.m.
After countless kicks this offseason, Pineiro has one final opportunity ahead of him as the Bears host the Titans in their preseason finale at Soldier Field on Thursday night.
"Hopefully there's a good story behind all of this," Nagy said. "For all of us, how cool would it be for it to work out?"
Chris Emma covers the Bears, Chicago's sports scene and more for 670TheScore.com. Follow him on Twitter @CEmma670.
