The Bears brought in kicker Cairo Santos as an emergency option just before the 2020. Then he became a mainstay.

Santos has given the team stability at a problematic position, and the Bears rewarded him Saturday with a four-year, $16 million contract with $9.5 million guaranteed, a source said. That could keep him with the team through 2027.

The Bears had nothing but trouble at kicker since releasing Robbie Gould in 2016 — until Santos arrived. He has made 90.5% of his field goals, which is the highest accuracy in franchise history, and 92.8% of his extra points.

Santos, now 32, was out of the NFL when the Bears called him in 2020 because Eddy Pineiro was injured in training camp. He was with them briefly in 2017, then bounced among four teams before returning.

After he set the Bears’ single-season record by making 93.8% of his field goals in 2020, former general manager Ryan Pace signed him to a three-year, $9 million extension. This is the final season of that deal.