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Cody Parkey

North Notes: Bears, Packers, Tomlin, Browns

September 4th, 2020 at 7:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Bears became the latest team to work out Jamon Brown, with SI.com’s Albert Breer tweeting the guard was in Chicago for an audition. The free agent guard, a Falcons cut last month, has already worked out for the 49ers. Brown was a full-time Rams starter in 2017, but a 2018 suspension derailed his momentum. The Rams waived him shortly after he returned from that ban, but he ended the ’18 season as a Giants first-stringer. The Bears are returning four starters from last season and have been trying ex-Seahawks right tackle Germain Ifedi at guard.

Here is the latest from the North divisions:

  • The Steelers will let Mike Tomlin enter a contract year. Signed through 2021, Tomlin will not be extended this year, Art Rooney II said (via The Athletic’s Ed Bouchette, subscription required). The Steelers gave Tomlin his most recent extension last July, and he managed an eight-win season despite the largely Ben Roethlisberger-less Steelers ranking 32nd in offensive DVOA. Rooney said he plans to address the contracts of Tomlin and GM Kevin Colbert, who just signed a one-year extension, in 2021.
  • One of the league’s healthiest teams last season, the Packers may be down a starter in Week 1. Billy Turner suffered a knee injury during a scrimmage and is uncertain for Green Bay’s opener, Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com notes. Turner played guard for the Packers last season but is competing with free agency addition Ricky Wagner at right tackle this year. Lane Taylor, who missed all of last season, is expected to play right guard opposite emerging talent Elgton Jenkins on the left side.
  • For the second time in three weeks, the Browns brought in Cody Parkey for a visit. The veteran was part of a kicker group to work out for the Browns in August, though it was reported at the time the team was organizing a COVID-related emergency kicker list. Parkey briefly kicked for the Titans last season.
  • Bears training camp coaching intern Henry Burris will stay on the team’s staff all season, Matt Nagy announced. Known mostly for his 17-season CFL run, Burris also was a Bears quarterback for a short time in the early 2000s. This will be his first NFL coaching gig.
  • Vikings linebacker Cameron Smith underwent successful open-heart surgery recently, according to the Associated Press. Mike Zimmer said the second-year defender, who landed on Minnesota’s IR list, will remain in Philadelphia for the foreseeable future to recover.

Buccaneers Host Ryan Succop, Cody Parkey

August 29th, 2020 at 5:42pm CST by Sam Robinson

Saturday afternoon has brought some kicker developments. While the Titans worked out Stephen Gostkowski, the Buccaneers brought in Tennessee’s longtime kicker.

Ryan Succop visited the Bucs on Saturday, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. The Titans released Succop earlier this year, concluding a six-season Tennessee stay for the veteran.

Saturday’s session also featured Cody Parkey, per The Athletic’s Greg Auman (on Twitter). The former Bears kicker is at the Bucs’ facility for COVID-19 testing, with Auman noting he is expected to work out for the team in a few days. The Bucs appear to be planning to add to their current kicker competition or replace one of the current participants.

Tampa Bay has not enjoyed such kicker continuity in many years. The Bucs are currently holding a competition between Matt Gay and Elliott Fry. An 11-year veteran, Succop certainly has accomplished more than the two Tampa Bay kickers. Succop, 33, kicked in only six games last season, however, with injuries impeding him at multiple junctures.

Succop made just 1 of 6 field goals in his final Titans season, which began and ended on IR. The Titans stashed Succop on their IR list to start the season because of a knee injury and placed him on season-ending IR late in the season. Prior to that rocky slate, however, Succop played in every game for the Titans from 2014-18. He made at least 83% of his field goals in each of those seasons.

Parkey’s last significant role came with the Bears in 2018, but after his “double doink” miss, the Titans brought in the veteran during their search for a stopgap while Succop resided on IR. Parkey played three Titans games last season, going 3-for-3 on field goals. Parkey, 28, was a full-time kicker in four of the previous five seasons.

The Bucs have not featured the same primary kicker in a season since the 2011-12 campaigns, when Connor Barth held that job. Headlined by its second-round Roberto Aguayo miss, the franchise has spent the better part of a decade trying to find some stability at this spot. Gay, a 2019 rookie, went 27-for-35 on field goals last year and missed five extra points. The Bucs signed Fry, who has never kicked in a regular-season game, this offsesaon.

While Succop brings considerable experience, Gostkowski is certainly the more accomplished option. It will be interesting to see if the Bucs consider Tom Brady‘s longtime teammate as well, should the Titans and the veteran kicker not agree to terms.

Browns Work Out Folk, Parkey, Others

August 19th, 2020 at 4:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Browns may be holding a kicker competition. They brought in Nick Folk, Kai Forbath, Cody Parkey and Matthew McCrane for workouts Wednesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.

Austin Seibert resides as Cleveland’s incumbent kicker. He kicked for the Browns last season, going 25-for-29. The ex-Oklahoma Sooner did miss five extra points, however, and may be on the verge of a training camp battle.

Cleveland has not seen much continuity at kicker lately. The team has changed kickers in each of the past four years, with Zane Gonzalez and Greg Joseph enjoying one-season stays. Seibert beat out Joseph last summer.

Folk has the most experience of the tryout legs, having kicked in the NFL since 2007. The 35-year-old specialist kicked in seven Patriots games last season. Parkey, whose “double doink” miss in a 2018 wild-card game set off rampant Bears kicker uncertainty, resurfaced in three Titans games last season. He made 3 of 3 field goals during that stay. Both Folk and Parkey made Pro Bowls as rookies — in 2007 and ’14, respectively.

Forbath was also part of the Pats’ post-Stephen Gostkowski kicker shuffle; he also kicked in three Cowboys games in 2019. McCrane did not play last season but kicked in four games as a rookie in 2018.

Titans Activate Succop, Waive Parkey

November 2nd, 2019 at 3:50pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Titans will have their kicker back when they take the field in Week 9. Barely a week after designating Ryan Succop as one of their IR-return players, the Titans activated him.

Succop will reclaim his job, one Cairo Santos and Cody Parkey filled in his absence. The Titans waived Parkey in a corresponding move Saturday.

A knee injury sidelined Succop just before the season. This will be the veteran’s sixth year with Tennessee, which initially acquired him after the 2014 Chiefs opted for Santos over him out of training camp. Santos made just 4 of 9 field goal tries this season, with the Titans cutting him after a four-miss showing against the Bills in Week 5. Parkey made all three of his Titans field goal tries, bouncing back after his infamous playoff miss led to his Bears exit, but will head to the waiver wire.

Succop, 33, played in every Titans game from 2014-18. Last season, he went 26-for-30 on field goals and 28-for-31 on PATs. He will rejoin a Titans team that has won its past two games to enter Week 9 at 4-4.

The Titans also activated defensive back Joshua Kalu from their IR list, meaning the team has used both of its 2019 IR-return designations. Tennessee waived defensive back Tye Smith to make room for Kalu’s return.

Titans To Sign Cody Parkey

October 7th, 2019 at 4:34pm CST by Zachary Links

The Titans have a new kicker. The club will sign Cody Parkey after cutting ties with Cairo Santos, according to Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link). 

Santos lost his job after missing four field goal tries in Sunday’s loss to the Bills. Enter Parkey, who hasn’t been heard from much since his split with the Bears in February.

The 27-year-old missed a potential game winner against the Eagles in the opening round of the playoffs following the 2017 season, putting him on thin ice. He later made an appearance on NBC’s Today show that rubbed head coach Matt Nagy the wrong way. The veteran struggled during the 2018 regular season, connecting on only 76.7-percent of his field goal attempts.

Next up for the Titans (and Parkey): a Sunday afternoon showdown against the Broncos in Denver.

NFL Workout Updates: 10/2/19

October 2nd, 2019 at 9:01pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s workout updates:

Carolina Panthers

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Los Angeles Chargers

Washington Redskins

Colts Hold Kicker Workout

September 17th, 2019 at 4:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

Despite Adam Vinatieri not opting to retire, the Colts held a kicker audition. The team worked out Cody Parkey, Elliott Fry and Younghoe Koo, Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. This workout occurred today, after Vinatieri decided not to retire, NFL reporter Howard Balzer tweets. Also part of the audition: Greg Joseph, Chase McLaughlin and Cole Hedlund, per Balzer.

None of these kickers has signed with Indianapolis yet, but the 1-1 team is doing due diligence in light of Vinatieri’s rough start to the season.

Parkey worked out for the Jets recently, but Gang Green went with a Kaare Vedvik waiver claim instead. They now have Sam Ficken at kicker. Parkey has not kicked in a game since his infamous double-doink sequence ended the 2018 Bears’ season, but he has five seasons’ experience.

Koo has also participated in workouts but has not kicked since some late-game misses cost him his Chargers job early in 2017. A South Carolina alum, Fry has yet to kick in an NFL game. Neither has Hedlund, who kicked at Arkansas and North Texas. Joseph served as the Browns’ kicker last season, taking Zane Gonzalez‘s job in September 2018. He did not win Cleveland’s kicking competition this year. McLaughlin did not make the Bills out of camp. He kicked at the University of Illinois from 2015-18.

This is not yet an ominous sign for Vinatieri, but the 46-year-old kicking icon may now be on notice. The future Hall of Famer may be kicking for his job in Week 3.

Jets Audition K Cody Parkey

August 31st, 2019 at 10:36am CST by Ben Levine

With Jets kicker Taylor Bertolet struggling during the preseason finale, the team is apparently eyeing some alternative options. Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News tweets that the Jets auditioned a pair of kickers today: Cody Parkey and Younghoe Koo.

Veteran Chandler Catanzaro, retired earlier this month, forcing the Jets to sign a kicker. After auditioning several veterans, the team landed on Bertolet, who was with the Jets last summer. The 26-year-old was shaky throughout the preseason; he missed a pair of extra points during the second game, was perfect in the third, and then missed three field goals during the finale.

Bertolet has shown that he can absolutely boot the ball, but accuracy has continued to be an issue. Still, the kicker is confident in his abilities.

“I’ve been that guy who goes out and makes long kicks,” Bertolet told Andy Vasquez of NorthJersey.com. “And that part of the reason why I think our coaching staff had confidence to put me out there. … It’s usually the kicks that I make, and I’m looking forward to correcting that.”

We haven’t heard from Parkey since he was released by the Bears back in February. The 27-year-old missed a potential game winner against the Eagles in the opening round of the playoffs, putting him on thin ice. He later made an appearance on NBC’s Today show that rubbed head coach Matt Nagy the wrong way. The veteran struggled during the 2018 regular season, connecting on only 76.7-percent of his field goal attempts.

Koo, 25, appeared in four games for the Chargers in 2017, connecting on three of his six field goal attempts and all nine of his extra point tries. He spent last season playing in the Alliance of American Football.

Bears To Release Cody Parkey

February 22nd, 2019 at 4:53pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bears will release Cody Parkey at the start of the league year, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Rapoport hears that Parkey is embracing the fresh start and it doesn’t hurt that Parkey is still owed a guaranteed $3.5MM from Chicago in 2019. 

The 27-year-old missed a potential game winner against the Eagles in the opening round of the playoffs, putting him on thin ice. His 43-yard try off the upright was a heartbreaker, though it wasn’t exactly Parkey’s fault as it was tipped by defensive tackle Treyvon Hester. After that, he may have put his job in further jeopardy when he made a guest appearance on NBC’s Today show to discuss the miss. The lighthearted segment rubbed head coach Matt Nagy the wrong way and drew the ire of many Bears fans.

“For me, you understand that we always talk about a ‘we’ and not a ‘me’ thing,” Nagy said. “We always talk as a team, we win as a team, we lose as a team. You know, I just, I didn’t necessarily think that that was too much of a ‘we’ thing.”

By discontinuing Parkey’s four-year, $15MM deal, the Bears will be left with a $4.4MM dead cap hit for the upcoming year.

Soon after Parkey’s national TV appearance, the Bears auditioned a group of six or seven kickers including Nick Folk, Blair Walsh, and Austin MacGinnis. They wound up signing one of the lesser-known names, Redford Jones, after the tryout.

Bears To Audition Several Kickers

January 25th, 2019 at 10:19am CST by Zachary Links

The Bears are leaving no stone unturned in their efforts to upgrade the kicker position. On Friday, they’ll work out a group of six or seven kickers including Nick Folk, Blair Walsh, and Austin MacGinnis, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter links). 

Parkey missed a potential game winner against the Eagles in the opening round of the playoffs, putting him on thin ice. His 43-yard try off the upright was a heartbreaker, though it wasn’t exactly Parkey’s fault as it was tipped by defensive tackle Treyvon Hester.

The 26-year-old kicker (27 in February) may have put his job in further jeopardy when he made a guest appearance on NBC’s Today show to discuss the miss. The lighthearted segment rubbed head coach Matt Nagy the wrong way and drew the ire of many Bears fans.

“For me, you understand that we always talk about a ‘we’ and not a ‘me’ thing,” Nagy said (via ESPN.com). “We always talk as a team, we win as a team, we lose as a team. You know, I just, I didn’t necessarily think that that was too much of a ‘we’ thing.”

It certainly sounds like the Bears want to replace Parkey, but his contract complicates matters. Parkey joined the Bears on a four-year, $15MM deal last offseason which calls for a $4.4MM dead cap hit if he is released before the 2019 season. Earlier this month, GM Ryan Pace indicated that the contract will not necessarily keep them from moving on.

“We talk about those things [the financial ramifications], but the most important thing is performance,” Pace said.

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