The Chicago Bears announced on Tuesday that they placed kicker Robbie Gould on the injured reserve with a season-ending calf injury. Gould suffered the calf inury during pregame warmups against the Vikings on Sunday.
Olindo Mare was signed on to replace Gould after beating out Billy Cundiff and Neil Rackers in a tryout at Halas Hall.
Mare is a 39-year old veteran, who has played for the Seattle Seahawks and the New Orleans Saints as of late. He spent 10 seasons with the Miami Dolphins to start off his career.
Mare made 22 of 28 last season with the Seahawks. He has made 81.2 percent of his field goal attempts in his NFL career.
Without Gould it could be tough come crunch time at the end of games, but Mare has proven to be a solid kicker during his career.
Safety Craig Steltz (chest) and cornerback Sherrick McManis were both placed on season-ending injured reserve as well.
Wide receiver Joe Anderson was promoted from the practice squad to the active roster to help on special teams. Linebacker Jerry Franklin was signed from the Dallas Cowboys practice squad to help on special teams as well.
One roster spot is still available as the Bears waived recently signed guard Andre Gurode.
It’s never ending with injuries for the Bears in 2012, as key players have been hurt a plenty as of late.
They just have to play through the absences of those key players if they want to punch a ticket to the playoffs.
It won’t be easy, but the Bears have plenty of talent left to put things together with three games remaining.
Jake Perper is the owner and head writer for Bearsbacker.com. Follow him on Twitter, @Bearsbacker and on Facebook for up to the minute news about the Bears.
