NFC North Notes: Pineiro, Cousins, Vikings

The Bears‘ kicking woes continued Sunday when Eddy Pineiro missed a 41-yard field goal attempt as time expired in a 17-16 loss to the Chargers. Matt Nagy is not publicly wavering from Pineiro, though, according to Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic. Nagy said, “We love Eddy. We’ve got all the faith in the world in him.” Chicago, of course, has struggled to replace kicker Robbie Gould since the team let him go in 2015. Last postseason, the Bears were eliminated after then-kicker Cody Parkey missed a 43-yard field goal in a 16-15 loss to the Eagles. Nagy did not shy away from making the team’s kicker situation a front-and-center issue throughout the offseason. However, the second-year Chicago coach is sticking with Pineiro going forward.

Here’s more from around the NFC North:

  • Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins has not been consistent during his time in Minnesota, despite stringing together some strong weeks to help his team to a 6-2 record. Cousins signed a fully guaranteed, three-year, $84MM contract in March 2018. Now that Cousins is exactly halfway through his contract, Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune examines what to make of Cousins’ tenure in Minnesota and whether the team will look at extending him.
  • Five misdemeanor charges surfaced for Vikings safety Jayron Kearse, Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets. Among them: operating a vehicle while intoxicated, carrying a pistol while intoxicated and carrying a gun without a permit. Kearse was arrested Sunday. Considering Kearse has been mostly a backup in his Vikings career and is playing on an expiring contract, this may not bode well for his status with the team going forward.
  • The Packers were interested in Jets wideout Robby Anderson, but the fourth-year player — like most of Tuesday’s trade candidates — will stay put.
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