DECATUR — Chairman George McCaskey hasn’t been able to escape the Bears’ kicker question for the last six months.
‘‘Every conversation with a fan this entire offseason has concluded with some sort comment about that,’’ McCaskey said Sunday.
And what in the world does he tell the fans?
‘‘ ‘Thanks for the reminder,’ ’’ he said with a smile. ‘‘And, ‘We’re working on it.’ ’’
That’s the most polite way to frame where the Bears will stand at the start of training camp Thursday, exactly 200 days after Cody Parkey double-doinked a game-winning field-goal attempt in the playoffs against the Eagles.
They have Eddy Pineiro and Elliott Fry — combined NFL experience: zero regular-season games — but no answers.
The Bears don’t even have a leader among the two as they head to Bourbonnais. Rookies and quarterbacks report to Olivet Nazarene University on Monday, and the full roster arrives Thursday.
‘‘To be honest, it’s even,’’ general manager Ryan Pace said. ‘‘It’s close. That’s why we’re excited about that battle going into training camp, along with a lot of other battles. But, obviously, we’ll be watching that one.’’
And every other battle around the league. Ten other NFL teams will bring two kickers to camp, and the Bears have college and pro grades on each one. The Bears’ next kicker might be the best one cut two days after the final preseason game.
‘‘Obviously, we’re scouring the waiver wire as we go forward,’’ Pace said. ‘‘And it’s kind of open competition as we go forward. . . .
‘‘We’re watching all the teams, all the competitive situations around the league. One of them will be kicker. We’re just watching that progress as we go forward. We know right now where we stand, where some of those battles are occurring. We’re watching those. And I’m sure there will be ones that will pop up that might surprise us.’’
Whither Robbie Gould? On Sunday, he threw out a ceremonial first pitch and sang ‘‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’’ at the Padres-Cubs game at Wrigley Field.
Gould, who wore a Cubs jersey with his name and number on the back, is beloved by Bears fans and a full-fledged Chicago celebrity. But he’s not a Bear and won’t be for at least the next two years. Last week, he signed a four-year contract — including a two-year option — that guarantees him $10.5 million the first two seasons to return to the 49ers.
Could the Bears, who owe $4.06 million in dead salary-cap money this season after cutting Parkey in March, have afforded such a contract?
‘‘That’s hypothetical,’’ Pace said, not answering the question.
He didn’t rule out trading a draft pick for a proven kicker.
‘‘I think everything’s on the table to make sure that we get that right,’’ Pace said.
If that was the Bears’ preferred route, however, they likely would have done so already.
Pace, who cut a struggling Gould on the eve of the 2016 season, evaluated the kickers who remain on his roster.
‘‘Eddy’s got real natural leg talents,’’ Pace said. ‘‘He’s got a strong leg. It’s just developing consistency as he goes forward. He’s a young kicker.
‘‘Elliott [is] a little different. Elliott’s got a pretty consistent stroke. As he gets stronger — you know he had a year away from football — we anticipate some of that leg strength improving, as well.”
After an offseason in which they couldn’t find a sure solution to their kicking problem, the Bears hope they develop one during camp.
‘‘We’re happy with our offseason,’’ Pace said. ‘‘We’re happy with our free agency and with our draft. Our goal now is to develop these young guys. You can point to a lot of [teams] around the league that have kickers in successful situations that have come a number of ways. And some of them are this way.
‘‘Ideally, for our franchise, we hit on a young kicker long-term. And we’ll march forward this way.’’
