The Bears on Sunday claimed kicker Roberto Aguayo off waivers from the Buccaneers and placed receiver Rueben Randle on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.
Aguayo was selected by Tampa Bay in the second round of the 2016 draft from Florida State, where he was named first-team All-American after each of his three seasons.
Roberto Aguayo was picked by the Buccaneers in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
Aguayo struggled as a rookie, however, converting just 71 percent of his field goals attempts (22 of 31) with a long of 43 yards. He made only 4 of 11 tries from 40 yards-and-beyond.
Aguayo was waived by the Buccaneers Saturday after he missed an extra point and 47-yard field goal attempt Friday night in a 23-12 preseason loss to the Bengals.
The Bears are hoping that Aguayo reverts to the form he showed at Florida State, where he became the third most accurate field-goal kicker in NCAA history at 88.5 percent (69 of 78).
Aguayo will compete with veteran Connor Barth. Coincidentally, Barth was released by the Buccaneers in May 2016, shortly after Tampa Bay drafted Aguayo.
In his first season with the Bears last year, Barth made 18-of-23 field-goal attempts (78.2 percent) with a long of 49 yards and 31-of-32 extra-point tries. After missing three of his first seven field-goal attempts, he closed the season by hitting 14-of-16.
Barth originally signed with the Bears one week before the start of the 2016 regular season following the release of Robbie Gould, the franchise's all-time leading scorer.
Prior to joining the Bears, Barth spent his first eight NFL seasons with the Chiefs (2008), Buccaneers (2009-13 and 2015) and Broncos (2014). In Denver, he worked with Bears coach John Fox and special-teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers, who held the same roles with the Broncos.
Randle signed with the Bears in January. The 6-2, 203-pounder appeared in 64 games with 33 starts over four seasons with the Giants from 2012-15, catching 188 passes for 2,644 yards and 20 touchdowns. He signed with the Eagles last summer, but failed to make their 53-man roster.
