Ex-Pitt kicker Chris Blewitt waived by Chicago Bears

Former Pitt kicker Chris Blewitt was waived by the Chicago Bears on Wednesday, ending his attempt to succeed ex-Bears kicker Cody Parkey in the Windy City. Parkey was cut from the Bears roster in March after missing a field goal that would have likely advanced his team past the Philadelphia Eagles in the playoffs.

Blewitt was one of three kickers on the Bears roster. The two remaining are Elliott Fry and Eddy Pineiro. Each struggled to convert a 42-yard field goal in practice earlier this week, according to Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune. The trio went 0-for-3 in the drill before an audience of 25 former Bears and guests.

The kickers were also subjected to the “Augusta silence” rule, meaning none of the people in attendance were allowed to make any noise during their attempts. The idea, according to Bears head coach Matt Nagy, was to create an “eerie” quiet and heap pressure on the group of kickers.

”We’re creating as much pressure as we can on these guys,” Nagy told Jeff Dickerson of ESPN. “We’re getting the ‘Augusta silence’ out here with the team and that’s eerie.”

Blewitt was signed by the Bears in March after winning a field goal competition in Phoenix, which earned him a spot in a group tryout at Halas Hall. He then beat out former Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Patrick Murray.

The native of Alexandria, Virginia, played for Pitt between 2013 and 2016 and became the Panthers’ all-time leader in made fields goals and extra points, with 55 and 198, respectively. He converted on 69.6 percent of his field goals and 97.1 percent of his extra points during his collegiate career, and his most notable moment in blue and gold came in the 2016 upset of Clemson, when he made the game-winning field goal from 48 yards out.