Long snapper Scott Daly is officially headed back to Chicago, making a U-turn after the Bears just poached him from the Saints’ practice squad. This isn’t just some casual depth move, folks. It’s a direct, almost panicked, response to serious special teams trouble that blew up in their face big time this past Sunday. When you see a team pull a veteran like this, you know they’re trying to put out a fire.
Snapping Nightmare Forces Urgent Move
This whole mess, this *crisis*, really, exploded on Sunday when the Bears had a 23-yard field goal blocked in their agonizing loss to Minnesota. A 23-yarder! Seriously, that’s practically an extra point in the NFL, a chip shot you expect to make in your sleep. You just cannot have that kind of fundamental breakdown when every single point is a battle. The team had made a big choice this offseason, moving on from Daly, 32, after he’d spent the last two seasons with them. They went with rookie Beau Gardner instead. But when you’re whiffing on what should be gimme field goals because of these snapping issues, costing your team points and potentially games, it’s clear as day something needed fixing *yesterday*. The trust in that rookie evaporated after one ugly, momentum-killing blocked kick. That’s a bad look, and it clearly lit a fire under the coaching staff.
Daly’s Whirlwind Week and Chicago’s Hopes
Now, Daly knows the playbook, knows the locker room, knows the whole vibe in Chicago. He spent the last two seasons there before this offseason’s shift, so he’s not walking into a totally unfamiliar situation, a massive relief for a coaching staff in full scramble mode. Get this: he was just playing for the Saints, stepping in seamlessly in Week 2 after New Orleans’ longtime veteran long snapper, Zach Wood, went down with a calf injury. Daly played that game without a single issue. That tells you he’s still sharp, still got it, and is absolutely ready to snap the ball right now. Bringing in a guy who’s not only familiar with your system but also just played flawlessly for another team speaks volumes about how urgent Chicago views this problem. They don’t just need a body; they need *stability*, and they need it yesterday.
This move, reported by Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune on September 22, 2026, isn’t some deep, long-term strategic play. No way. This is about fixing an immediate, glaring, point-costing problem that slapped them right in the face on Sunday. When you’re signing a veteran long snapper mid-season off another team’s practice squad, you’re basically screaming “SOS” from the rooftops for your special teams unit. The Bears are clearly hoping Daly can be that rock, that steady hand, to make sure their field goal unit doesn’t cost them any more absolutely crucial points going forward this season. It’s a quick fix, a desperate gamble perhaps, but they’re betting it’s the right one to prevent more special teams nightmares.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pro Football Talk.
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